back seat
back seat — noun
1. the row of seats inside a car that sits behind the driver and the front passenge
the row of seats inside a car that sits behind the driver and the front passenger.
Hana buckled her twins into the back seat before the long drive home.
in the back seat for where passengers sit
The two dogs slept on the back seat the whole way to the beach.
Mateo found his lost phone wedged under the back seat of the taxi.
Please climb into the back seat so the children can sit up front with me.
The grocery bags slid across the back seat every time the car turned.
- rear seat
more formal; common in car manuals and reviews
- front seat
the row beside or holding the driver
文法句型
in the back seat
the back seat of [a vehicle]
用法筆記
Almost always used with 'the' and the preposition 'in' (sit in the back seat). Distinguish from sense 2, which is figurative and never refers to a real chair.
常見錯誤
2. a situation in which someone or something is treated as having little importance
a situation in which someone or something is treated as having little importance and is given less attention than other things.
After the baby arrived, Noor's painting hobby was pushed into the back seat.
figurative: pushed into the back seat = made less important
During the crisis, long-term planning took a back seat to daily survival.
take a back seat to [something]
Sven let his own career take a back seat while he cared for his sick mother.
Once profit became the goal, worker safety was forced into the back seat.
In the new plan, fancy design takes a back seat to lower prices for buyers.
- second place
stresses ranking below something else
- the sidelines
stresses being kept out of the action
- priority
the thing treated as most important
文法句型
take a back seat
take a back seat to [something]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this meaning never points to a real chair, and it almost always appears in the fixed phrase 'take a back seat (to)'.