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

Bodycam footage shows deputies rushing to the vehicle on the side of the interstate and pulling the child out of the back seat. —Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Officers stopped the vehicle and found an 11-year-old in the back seat without a seat belt on, the affidavit says. —Chase Rogers, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 2026

Musical instruments Musical instruments can be pricey to replace, so leaving your kid's wooden clarinet in the back seat during a snowstorm is a bad idea. —Elissa Robinson, Detroit Free Press, 23 Jan. 2026

Musical instruments Musical instruments can be pricey to replace, so leaving your kid's wooden clarinet in the back seat during a snowstorm is a bad idea. —Elissa Robinson, Freep.com, 22 Jan. 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