Meaning & use
rear seat
Last updated
UK/ˌrɪə ˈsiːt/
US/ˌrɪr ˈsiːt/
Meaning
nouncountable
The seat or row of seats at the back of a car, taxi or other vehicle.
Grammar: Often used with in: in the rear seat.
Patterns
- in the rear seat
- the rear seat of something
Children under twelve should always ride in the rear seat.
She put the shopping bags on the rear seat.
The rear seat of the taxi was surprisingly spacious.
Word forms
| plural | rear seats |
|---|
Common combinations
- rear seat passenger
- The rear seat passenger must wear a seat belt.
- fold down the rear seat
- You can fold down the rear seat to fit a bicycle.
- rear seat legroom
- The car has excellent rear seat legroom.
- rear seat belt
- Remember to fasten your rear seat belt.
- in the rear seat
- My dog travels in the rear seat.
Synonyms and how they differ
- back seat
- Back seat is the everyday spoken form, while rear seat is slightly more formal and common in manuals and safety rules.
- back row
- Back row can refer to any vehicle, theater or classroom, whereas rear seat refers to vehicles.
- third row
- Third row is a position in large vehicles such as vans, while rear seat means the seating at the back.
Opposites
front seat
Word family
Commonly confused: rear seat or rare seat?
rear seat vs rare seat
Rare means unusual, not at the back. Rear and rare sound alike in some accents.
Practice
The driver asked the child to buckle up in the ______ of the car.
Choose one answer.
The rear seat is the seat at the back, where a child usually rides. The glove box and roof rack are not seats.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rear seat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.