Work & careers

take a back seat

become less important

If something takes a back seat, it becomes less important because something else needs attention.

B2 common speech & writing

expression

Hear it in real life

Have you been playing music recently?

Not much - it has taken a back seat to my studies.

Play the conversation

When deadlines pile up, exercise tends to take a back seat to work.

The mistake everyone makes

Not: My hobbies take the back seat to work.

Say: My hobbies take a back seat to work.

The idiom normally uses "a back seat," not "the back seat."

Build it

How it fits in a sentence.

something takes a back seat to something; take a back seat whenclause

Your turn: say it out loud

When deadlines pile up, exercise tends to take a back seat to work.

Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.

take a back seat

become less important

“When deadlines pile up, exercise tends to take a back seat to work.”

heytardy

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