teɪk ə bæk siːt
General
informal
beginner
- Literally:
- Sitting in the back of a vehicle
What does "take a back seat" mean?
- To take a less important or active role
- To let someone else take charge
Examples
- He's taking a back seat in the company now.
- My career took a back seat when the kids were born.
- Safety should never take a back seat to convenience.
Origin
From car seating—the back seat is less prominent than the driver's seat. Used figuratively since early 1900s.
How to use it
Can be voluntary or forced. Sometimes used critically about neglected priorities.
Similar expressions
step back
play a minor role
be less prominent
Opposites
take charge
be in the driver's seat
lead
Related idioms
- actions speak louder than words
What people do is more important than what they say
- better safe than sorry
It's better to be careful and prevent problems than to take risks
- so far so good
Things have gone well up to now
- easier said than done
Something is more difficult to do than to talk about
- make a long story short
To summarize or get to the point
- to make matters worse
In addition to existing problems
Use it in a practice answer
Try "take a back seat" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.