Meaning & use
behind the steering wheel
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Driving a car, or sitting in the driver's seat ready to drive.
Grammar: Used after 'be', 'sit', or 'get'; it describes a person's position as the driver.
Patterns
- be behind the steering wheel
- sit behind the steering wheel
- get behind the steering wheel
After ten hours behind the steering wheel, my back was aching.
She fell asleep as soon as she got behind the steering wheel.
Who was behind the steering wheel when the accident happened?
phraseidiomfigurative
In control of a vehicle, a company, or an organization.
Grammar: Used figuratively to mean the person in charge, often with 'the person' or a name before 'behind'.
Patterns
- the person behind the steering wheel
- be behind the steering wheel of something
For twenty years he was the man behind the steering wheel of the family business.
Voters want to know who will really be behind the steering wheel after the election.
Common combinations
- sit behind the steering wheel
- He sat behind the steering wheel for a minute before starting the engine.
- get behind the steering wheel
- Never get behind the steering wheel if you have been drinking.
- hours behind the steering wheel
- Long hours behind the steering wheel make drivers tired and careless.
- the man behind the steering wheel
- The man behind the steering wheel turned out to be her uncle.
- fall asleep behind the steering wheel
- He nearly fell asleep behind the steering wheel on the motorway.
Synonyms and how they differ
- behind the wheel
- The usual shorter form; it is more common in American English and fits almost any context.
- at the wheel
- Very similar, but it often suggests you are actively steering right now rather than just sitting in the driver's seat.
- in the driver's seat
- Usually figurative and means 'in control'; it is not used for the physical act of driving a car.
Word family
- steering wheel noun
- the round wheel a driver turns to control a car's direction
Commonly confused: behind the steering wheel or behind the wheel?
behind the steering wheel vs behind the wheel
This is the standard short version of the same idea; 'behind the steering wheel' is longer and slightly more literal, so it sounds a little less idiomatic.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase needs 'the' before 'steering wheel' and no extra preposition, so option An is right. Option B drops 'the', option C uses a plural after 'a', and option D adds 'of', which the phrase never takes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “behind the steering wheel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.