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
Al GoreExamples of back seat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The incident was captured in a TikTok video and shows the driverless Waymo pull up to the curb when the door opens and a man is already inside, tucked behind the back seat in the trunk area.
—Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
The man’s two children were in the back seat of the car when the shooting occurred.
—Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Dec. 2025
The California Highway Patrol told CBS News that the two adults, who were pronounced dead at the scene, appeared to be the parents of the children sitting in the back seats.
—Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
An example in day-to-day life is driving, when you might be forced to look in the rearview mirror for people cutting you off while at the same time answering questions from your kids in the back seat.
—Terry Ward, CNN Money, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back seat
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
The man’s two children were in the back seat of the car when the shooting occurred.
—Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Dec. 2025
The California Highway Patrol told CBS News that the two adults, who were pronounced dead at the scene, appeared to be the parents of the children sitting in the back seats.
—Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 8 Dec. 2025
An example in day-to-day life is driving, when you might be forced to look in the rearview mirror for people cutting you off while at the same time answering questions from your kids in the back seat.
—Terry Ward, CNN Money, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back seat
Cite this Entry
“Back seat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back%20seat. Accessed 17 Dec. 2025.
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