take a back seat

Definition

To adopt a position of noninvolvement.

Etymology

From take a seat and back seat.

Example Sentences

• "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."