Word.ws English Dictionary

taking a back seat

taking a back seat is the present participle and gerund of take a back seat.

Meaning of take a back seat

Verb

take a back seat (third-person singular simple present takes a back seat, present participle taking a back seat, simple past took a back seat, past participle taken a back seat)

  1. (idiomatic) To adopt a position of noninvolvement.
    • The new chairman is happy to take a back seat when it comes to day-to-day operations.
  2. (idiomatic) To be second to someone or something; to be less important or have a lower priority.
    • But as with most kids, politics took a backseat to daily life.2004, My Life by Bill Clinton

Questions about taking a back seat

What is taking a back seat the present participle and gerund of?
Taking a back seat is the present participle and gerund of take a back seat.

Words near taking a back seat in the dictionary

  1. takiltu
  2. takin
  3. takin'
  4. taking
  5. taking (something) to
  6. taking a back seat
  7. taking a bath
  8. taking a bead on
  9. taking a beat
  10. taking a bite
  11. taking a bite out of

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking a back seat (page history and authors); take a back seat (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “taking a back seat.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/taking_a_back_seat. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.