How to Use take a back seat in a Sentence

take a back seat

idiomatic phrase
Definition of take a back seatnext
  • Bond seems to have taken a back seat—for now, at least.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 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
  • Adams hopes to be able to take a back seat in the day-to-day programming at the retreat.
    — Essence, 11 Jan. 2024
  • Male artists are taking a back seat at the 2024 Grammys.
    — Mesfin Fekadu, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Nov. 2023
  • But a lot of the orchard practices took a back seat in recent years.
    — Christine Lennon, Sunset Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024
  • The 1970s also marked the moment that homemade food took a back seat, says Gray.
    — Claire Turrell, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 May 2023
  • My pain was in the driver’s seat, and everything else took a back seat.
    — Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2023
  • And in this race, as with the clipper ship captains, caution might take a back seat to speed.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2024
  • Flirting is an art form that has taken a back seat due to the rise of dating apps.
    — Dominique Fluker, Essence, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Website and mobile app design skills take a back seat to a new skillset.
    — Ron Shevlin, Forbes, 18 July 2022
  • With the city taking a back seat, it has been left to nonprofits like Flatbush Cats to take up the slack.
    — Richard Schiffman Erin Schaff, New York Times, 8 June 2023
  • Even among his defenders, free speech took a back seat.
    — Russell Jacoby, Harper's Magazine, 16 Feb. 2023
  • In this instance, truth took a back seat to the FBI’s reputation.
    — Brett Forrest, Time, 7 June 2023
  • Now, with some of that money clawed back, there is a question about what programs may take a back seat.
    — Fatima Hussein and Kevin Freking, BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2023
  • By the early 1990’s, hair metal’s glory took a back seat to Nirvana, Pearl Jam and grunge.
    — A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024
  • As with the young L’Avant-Garde, the service can take a back seat to some of the singular sensations emerging from the open kitchen.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 May 2023
  • The Joker’s exploits as a passer take a back seat to nobody who has ever played the game.
    — John Hollinger, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Do my dietary restrictions and concerns take a back seat when the boss is picking up the tab?
    — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 13 Apr. 2024
  • The other side: OpenAI, for its part, rejects the idea that safety is taking a back seat.
    — Ina Fried, Axios, 2 Oct. 2024
  • But that issue has taken a back seat to the separate fight over who can be a party to the lawsuit.
    — Travis Loller The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 2 Dec. 2023
  • But none of that necessarily means 2021 will be the year that growth stocks take a back seat to value.
    — Akane Otani, WSJ, 31 Dec. 2020
  • Ambition takes a back seat, when nobody needs or wants to be in the manager.
    — Chris Westfall, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
  • If the financial case is grim, any plans to invest in Twitter may have to take a back seat to simply paying the bills.
    — Lauren Hirsch, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022
  • Some experts say this would mean taxpayers were taking a back seat to Wall Street.
    — Peter Eavis, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2023
  • Even the red, white and blue of the American flag flying high above the nosebleeds in Arthur Ashe Stadium take a back seat to the light itself.
    — Karsten Moran, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2023
  • The sense of smell, which usually takes a back seat, rose in public consciousness.
    — Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 30 May 2024
  • Here, most of the traditional spices take a back seat to allow the piquancy of ginger to shine in the foreground.
    — Ben Mimscooking Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2022
  • In the last few decades, that knowledge has taken a back seat to the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties and Santa Claus.
    — Lauren Green, Fox News, 24 Dec. 2024
  • For that moment, at least, couldn't Bernstein's love for Felicia be allowed to take a back seat to his love for Mahler?
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2023
  • Cooking takes a back seat now, giving us more time to bond with our growing, healthy family.
    — Editors Of Bon Appétit, Bon Appétit, 1 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take a back seat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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