seat

seat¹ W1S2 [si:t] n

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1¦(place to sit)¦

2¦(official position)¦

3¦(part of a chair)¦

4 baby/child/car seat

5 seat of government/power

6 seat of learning

7¦(clothes)¦

8 take a back seat (to somebody/something)

9 on the edge of your seat

10 do something by the seat of your pants

11 in the driving seat

12 in the hot seat

13¦(house)¦

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[Date: 1100-1200; : Old Norse; Origin: sAti]

1.) ¦(PLACE TO SIT)¦

a place where you can sit, especially one in a vehicle or one from which you watch a performance, sports event etc

▪ I was in the back seat and Jo was driving.

▪ People were shifting in their seats, looking uncomfortable.

▪ He requested a window seat for the flight.

▪ There were no empty seats .

▪ It was a great concert, and I had a front-row seat .

▪ We're a long way from the stage, but they were the best seats I could get.

▪ Please take a seat .

▪ You can book seats online.

▪ He is an actor who will put bums on seats .

▪ a 10,000-seat stadium

2.) ¦(OFFICIAL POSITION)¦

a position as an elected member of a government, or as a member of a group that makes official decisions

seat in/on

▪ a seat in the National Assembly

▪ Promotion would mean a seat on the board of directors.

Parliamentary/Senate etc seat

▪ the Senate seat for Colorado

win/lose etc a seat

(=in an election)

▪ He predicts that his party will gain at least 12 seats .

▪ Mr Adams is expected to keep his seat .

▪ Labour held the seat with a 7% majority.

safe seat

BrE (=one that a party will not lose)

marginal seat

BrE (=one that another party might easily win)

3.) ¦(PART OF A CHAIR)¦ [C usually singular]

the flat part of a chair etc that you sit on

▪ Don't put your feet on the seat!

▪ a wooden toilet seat

▪ a broken bicycle seat

4.) baby/child/car seat

a special seat that you put in a car for a baby or small child

5.) seat of government/power

formal a city where a country's government is based

6.) seat of learning

formal a university, college etc

7.) ¦(CLOTHES)¦ [singular]

the part of your trousers that you sit on

seat of

▪ a rip in the seat of his jeans

8.) take a back seat (to sb/sth)

to have less influence or importance

▪ Foreign policy will take a back seat to domestic problems for a while.

9.) on the edge of your seat

waiting excitedly to see what happens next

▪ a gripping movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat

10.) do sth by the seat of your pants

to do something by using only your own skill and experience, without any help from anyone or anything else, especially when this is risky or dangerous

11.) in the driving seat

BrE in the driver's seat AmE

controlling what happens in a situation, organization, or relationship

▪ We're trying to put young people in the driving seat .

12.) in the hot seat also on the hot seat AmE informal in a difficult position where you have to make important decisions, answer questions etc

13.) ¦(HOUSE)¦

a home of a rich important family in the countryside

family/country seat

→back-seat driver at ↑back seat, ↑window seat

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

back/rear/front seat (=the back or front seat in a car)

driver's seat

passenger seat (=the seat next to the driver's seat in a car)

window/aisle seat (=a seat next to the window oraisle , for example on a plane)

empty/vacant seat

front-row seat (=in a theatre, sports ground etc)

good seat (=one from which you can see well)

ringside seat (=a seat in the front row for a sports event, especially aboxing match)

have/take a seat

show somebody to their seat

book/reserve a seat

bums on seats British English informal (=used for talking about the number of people who go to an event, especially if this is a lot of people)

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seat ²

seat² v [T]

1.) [not in progressive]

if a place seats a number of people, it has enough seats for that number

▪ The arena seats 60,000.

2.) formal seat yourself (in/on/beside etc sth)

to sit down somewhere

▪ She seated herself at her desk.

see usage note ↑sit

3.) to arrange for someone to sit somewhere

seat sb beside/near etc sb/sth

▪ the old custom of seating boys and girls on opposite sides of the classroom

→↑seated