ride shotgun
The phrase "ride shotgun" has its origins in the Old West, where an armed guard would sit next to the driver of a stagecoach for protection. Today, it commonly refers to sitting in the front passenger seat of a car.
Definition
B2Modern Usage
(informal, slang)To sit in the front passenger seat of a vehicle.
Example
- I called shotgun, so I get to sit in the front seat!
C1Historical
(historical, idiom)To accompany a driver as an armed guard, originally on a stagecoach.
Example
- In the Old West, someone would ride shotgun to protect the stagecoach from bandits.
C1General
(idiom, informal)To accompany someone to assist and protect.
Example
- He asked me to ride shotgun while he made the delivery, just in case there were any problems.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "ride shotgun":
ride bitchride alongride tall in the saddleback seatride or dieride downride highfront seatroad captainride byride outback-seat driversaddle upride up ontall in the saddlein the driver's seatjump seatride the short bustake a back seatrear gunnerback-seat gaming