back seat

noun

ˈbak-ˈsēt 

variants or less commonly backseat

1

: a seat in the back (as of an automobile)

2

: a secondary or inferior position

… the issues and concerns that have sometimes been given a back seat …

—Al Gore

see also take a back seat

Examples of back seat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The victim agreed, and as Randolph got into the back seat, Pickens got into the front passenger seat. — Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026

There was a portable record player in the back seat—this was in the days before tape decks and stuff—and the needle was skipping…anyway, Sheddan looks up and Cormac walks by, wearing a navy pea coat. — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026

The agents were trying to arrest the man, Oscar Belgal, who is from the Dominican Republic, with a 5-year-old boy in the back seat. — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Thomas drives away with a limp, malfunctioning Vision next to him, and an illusory, wisecracking Ultron in the back seat. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1715, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for back seat

• amit
• athlete
• backseat
• blackfeet
• broadsheet
• browbeat
• buckwheat
• compete
• compleat
• complete
• conceit
• concrete