in the driving seat
/ɪn ðə ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˌsiːt/NEUTRAL · B2
Meaning
in control of a situation
Examples
- 1Now that she owns half the company, Aisha is firmly in the driving seat.
- 2The other buyers backed out, so now we're in the driving seat and can set the price.
- 3Leo has the only key to the studio, so he's in the driving seat when we book rehearsals.
- 4Two other firms want to hire Priya, which puts her in the driving seat in the salary talks.
- 5Who's in the driving seat on this project? Who makes the final decisions?
Grammar
The phrase is fixed. It usually follows be or put. American English says in the driver's seat.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about travel
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →plain sailingeasy and without any problemsa dead enda situation in which no more progress is possiblewater under the bridgepast problems that no longer matter or cause bad feelingshit the roadto leave a place and start a journeyin the middle of nowherefar from any towns, with very few people arounda stone's throwa very short distance away
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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