Synonyms

driver's seat

American

noun

the seat from which a vehicle is operated.
a position of power, dominance, control, or superiority.

After the election the Democrats were back in the driver's seat.

Etymology

Origin of driver's seat

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Friday’s bond-market moves are “screaming that job and growth fears are in the driver’s seat. The catalyst is pretty obvious: It is the great AI scare, which jumped a firewall from being a tech-sector story to being a macro story,” Ahn said in a phone interview.

From MarketWatch

According to Tesla’s marketing materials for Autopilot and Full Self-Drive mode, “the system is designed to be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat.”

From Los Angeles Times

For months, Netflix has been in the driver’s seat of an industry-shaking effort to acquire Warner Bros.

From MarketWatch

I fling off my flip-flops and rub my feet against the back of the driver’s seat.

From Literature

Camille asks quietly from the driver’s seat.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023