1. Home
2. Idioms
3. in the driver's seat

in the driver's seat

---

---

in the driver's seat

Fig. in control; in charge of things. (As if one were driving and controlling the vehicle.) Now that Fred is in the driver's seat, there is a lot less criticism about how things are being done. Joan can't wait to get into the driver's seat and do what she can to turn things around.

See also: seat

in the driver's seat

in control of a situation Huge consumer demand for electricity has put energy companies in the driver's seat.

Related vocabulary: in the saddle

See also: seat

in the driver's seat

Also, in the saddle. In control, in a position of authority. For example, With the boss on vacation, Mr. Burns was in the driver's seat and enjoying it, or She waited until after the election, knowing that she'd be in the saddle then. The first expression dates from the 1800s, the second from the early 1600s. Also see at the helm.

See also: seat