How to Use take a back seat in a Sentence

take a back seat

idiomatic phrase
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Beef ribs, cooked overnight and finished with a pomegranate glaze, take a back seat to the succulent chicken.
    Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Once the summer ends, the feeling of flowy, carefree clothing has to take a back seat to make room for professional pieces.
    Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The story, involving a group of sheep heading into the city to bring back their farmer, takes a back seat to an endless barrage of gags.
    Barry Levitt, Vulture, 31 May 2024
  • Your ambitions could have to take a back seat to other desires today.
    Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 24 Mar. 2022
  • Mental health services take a back seat to the funding of new weapons and overseas operations.
    Kendall McElwee, Baltimore Sun, 25 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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