ride shotgun

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To accompany the driver of a vehicle on a journey as an armed escort (originally with a…

   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.
   • Wyatt and Morgan Earp were in the service of the Express Company. They went often as guards—"riding shotgun," it was called—when the stage bore unusual treasure.
2. 2

   To ride in the front passenger seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.

   • When both kids want to ride shotgun with Mom, they’ll just have to take turns.
   • This is the classic children's theatre touring vehicle, with just enough seating space for four actors (who traditionally fight like five-year-olds about who gets to ride shotgun) and the stage manager, who gets to drive.
   • The memories of his ordeal had ridden shotgun with him the whole trip, but it was easier here, easier to worry about his father and Kate and this stupid marriage pact than to face what he'd left in Texas.
3. 3

   To supervise a process and watch for any risks.

   • He has ridden shotgun over Hunt's financial affairs since Hunt was a baby in business, ascending to the head chair on the board that governs the Chiefs and the Hunt Midwest Enterprises empire of mining and real estate development.
   • Thank you also to Stacey Ammerman, who rode shotgun on the technical editing end of this book to make sure everything you read is easy to understand and actually works the way it is supposed to.

The neighborhood

• neighborshotgun