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ride shotgun

(US, idiomatic, by extension, slang) To ride in the front passenger seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.

ˌɹaɪd ˈʃɒtɡʌnDocumented since 1880sSilenthistorical60 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
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Born ~1882 · no dated citations yet
1882BornToday, 2026

Definitions

#1·Apr 27, 2026

(US, idiomatic, by extension, slang) To ride in the front passenger seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.

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#2·Apr 27, 2026

(US, idiomatic, by extension, slang) To supervise a process and watch for any risks.

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#3·Apr 27, 2026

(US, idiomatic) To accompany the driver of a vehicle on a journey as an armed escort (originally with a shotgun); (by extension) to accompany someone in order to assist and protect.

He attended the meeting to ride shotgun for the sales team, in case anyone had a technical question.
Origin: [[File:The life of Guiteau and the official history of the most exciting case on record - being the trial of Guiteau for assassinating Pres. Garfield … (1882) (14595369470).jpg|thumb|250px|An illustration of an attempt to kill Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of U.S. President James A. Garfield in 1881, by shooting at his prison van. A police officer who is riding shotgun (sense 1) returns fire.]] Possibly from early-20th-century depictions in books and films of the 19th-century practice of a person armed with a rifle or shotgun riding next to a stagecoach driver to provide protection from. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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