take a back seat

Definitions

1. To adopt a position of noninvolvement.
   idiomatic
2. To be second to someone or something; to be less important or have a lower priority.
   idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“The new chairman is happy to take⟳ a back seat when it comes to day-to-day operations.”

“2004, My Life by Bill Clinton But as with most kids, politics took a backseat to daily life.”

“The bluntness of King Vajiralongkorn's intervention—and the determination it reveals to resist⟳ relatively small checks on royal power—is both a snub to the junta and a worry⟳ for democrats, some of whom had dared hope⟳ that the new king might be happy to take⟳ a back seat in public life.”

“Mr. August, a screenwriter for movies like⟳ “Charlie’s Angels” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” said that while artificial intelligence had taken a back seat to compensation in the Writers Guild negotiation, the union was making two key demands on the subject of automation.”

CEFR level