behind the wheel

idiomatic phrase

: in the act of driving
I was nervous my first time behind the wheel.
He urged drivers to stop and rest if they feel tired behind the wheel.Yaron Steinbuch
… will start enforcing a requirement for commercial truck drivers travelling between provinces to track their hours behind the wheelKarina Zapata

Examples of behind the wheel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Yet there is almost no consensus among the political parties in the aftermath of the death of Good, who was behind the wheel of an SUV after dropping off her 6-year-old at school when she was shot and killed by an ICE officer. Matt Brown, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026 State laws vary on headphone use behind the wheel, but the USA TODAY Cars team took a look at which states have laws against driving with headphones or earbuds, and which states make at least some allowances for phone calls. Vanessa Countryman, USA Today, 11 Jan. 2026 Yet there is almost no consensus among the political parties in the aftermath of the death of Good, who was behind the wheel of an SUV after dropping off her 6-year-old at school when she was shot and killed by an ICE officer. Matt Brown, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026 Videos from Minneapolis showed Renee Nicole Good, 37, behind the wheel of her Honda SUV on a residential street when an ICE agent shot her. Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for behind the wheel

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of behind the wheel was in 1906

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Cite this Entry

“Behind the wheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/behind%20the%20wheel. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.

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