passenger seat

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The seat next to the driver in a car, where a person who is not driving sits.

   Grammar: Countable: the front passenger seat, two passenger seats.

   Patterns

   • in the passenger seat
   • sit in the passenger seat

   She put her bag on the passenger seat and started the engine.

   My dog loves riding in the passenger seat.

   He asked me to sit in the passenger seat while he drove.

2. 2nouncountable

   Any seat in a vehicle, plane or train meant for people traveling rather than for the person operating it.

   Grammar: Countable: the plane has 180 passenger seats.

   Patterns

   • a passenger seat in something

   The van has two rows of passenger seats behind the driver.

   Each passenger seat on the bus has a seat belt.

   The airline added more passenger seats to the cabin.

Word forms

Common combinations

front passenger seat

The front passenger seat was covered in maps.

in the passenger seat

She slept in the passenger seat for most of the trip.

sit in the passenger seat

Children should not sit in the passenger seat.

passenger seat airbag

The passenger seat airbag is switched off.

slide into the passenger seat

He slid into the passenger seat and shut the door.

Synonyms and how they differ

shotgun

Shotgun is an informal, American-style term used when you claim the front seat, whereas passenger seat is neutral.

front seat

Front seat could mean the driver's seat too, so passenger seat is more precise.

co-driver's seat

Co-driver's seat is used mainly in rallies or with shared driving, and is rare in daily speech.

Opposites

Word family

passenger noun

a person traveling in a vehicle

seat noun

something to sit on

back seat noun

the seat behind the front ones

driver's seat noun

the seat where the driver sits

Commonly confused: passenger seat or passenger side?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “passenger seat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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