take a back seat

idiomatic phrase

variants or take a backseat

: to have or assume a secondary position or status : to be or become less important, active, or powerful

Howard loved directing "more than I even thought I would," and his acting career has taken a back seat ever since.

—Newsweek

That's why Bryant's willingness to tone down his game is significant. It doesn't mean, however, that he's content to take a backseat indefinitely.

—Phil Taylor

—often used with to

Physically and emotionally, these guys take a back seat to no one.

—Mark Vancil

Examples of take a back seat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In terms of limelight, the senior took a back seat last season to teammate Dijon Stanley, who led the Highlanders to a City Section title in football and a state title in the boys’ 400 meters before heading to the University of Utah. —Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024

Yet with output figures for sedans now approaching hypercar levels, practicality seems to be taking a back seat. —Peter Bleakney, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2024

While the events in the first Omen seemed to be taking place in a real world that just happened to include demonic figures, this film seems more like a fever dream, its outlandish storyline taking a back seat to a nightmarish vision that’s more about mood than narrative coherence. —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024

Overall, the health needs of women in Bangladesh take a back seat to those of men. —Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024

Extracurricular activities, like a strained debate about the appropriateness of trash talking, can now take a back seat for women’s basketball. —Sean Gregory, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024

The Brooklyn lineup of Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges and Roy Campanella, all Hall of Famers, takes a back seat to no one. —Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2024

For the next several months, the Willard inquiry, led by Mr. Cooney, took a back seat to another high-profile, high-risk effort: drafting novel seditious conspiracy charges against the leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys for their roles in the Capitol attack. —Adam Goldman, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

But politics take a back seat to Jagna’s more lurid, even tragic predicament, which isn’t exactly a love story, either, except perhaps an unrequited one. —Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above