Hop in. We're tracing the phrase's path from the Wild West to today.
If you’ve ever taken a road trip, you know the front passenger seat holds a certain kind of power. It’s the seat with the best view and the one where you get to be in charge of the playlist. It’s the navigator’s perch and home of the driver’s closest ally in matters of driving importance. We don’t just sit there—we ride shotgun.
It’s a phrase that slips into conversation so easily that most of us never pause to think about it. Yet hidden inside those casual words is a story that stretches far beyond minivans, highways and family vacations. Like many expressions, it began with a very literal meaning, one that had nothing to do with comfort, music control or map reading and everything to do with danger, duty and survival.
To learn about the origin and evolution of this phrase, I turned to Grant Barrett, a linguist, lexicographer and co-host of A Way with Words, a national radio show about language. Buckle up and keep reading to travel through the history of riding shotgun.
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What does riding shotgun mean?
At its most basic, riding shotgun means sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle, right next to the driver. It’s often used in a playful or casual way—think of friends or siblings rushing to claim that coveted seat by shouting, “I’m riding shotgun!” or “I call shotgun!”
Beyond this primary meaning, the everyday saying has also taken on a few ancillary uses. In some contexts, riding shotgun can mean acting as support or backup for someone, like a colleague joining you in a meeting or a friend tagging along to lend moral support. The undertone is always the same: being right there beside someone, ready to help if needed.
What is the origin of riding shotgun?
The evolution of riding shotgun has been quite a journey. Here’s the story:
Wild West origins
“This saying comes from the stagecoach era,” says Barrett. In the 19th century, stagecoaches carried passengers, goods and sometimes gold through rough frontier territories of the Old West. The stagecoach driver held the reins, and next to him rode a guard armed with a shotgun to ward off robbers or other hostile attackers.
“One guy would control the horses,” Barrett said, “and one guy would literally hold a gun and be on the lookout for an attack—and that’s true and verified.” That armed guard was said to be riding shotgun or sitting shotgun. The phrase was literal, and it stayed that way for decades.
The Hollywood connection
Barrett traces the phrase’s modern popularity to a specific moment in pop culture: the 1954 Randolph Scott Western movie called Riding Shotgun. The film used the term literally: In one of the publicity stills, a woman is at the reins of the stagecoach while the man next to her is aiming a shotgun into the distance.
After that movie, the “slangy uses, the nonliteral, figurative uses of ride shotgun or riding shotgun, they explode,” Barrett says. “Prior to that movie, there’s almost no nonliteral usage.”
From stagecoach to sedan
Within a decade of the film’s release, newspapers started using riding shotgun without reference to stagecoaches—or shotguns. Barrett points to a 1959 newspaper article where police use the phrase to describe their efforts to combat a burglary ring: “What it means is that they double up,” with one officer driving and the other keeping careful watch.
Widespread adoption
As stagecoaches gave way to trains, automobiles and modern travel, the literal need for an armed guard vanished, but the phrase stuck. Barrett gives the example of a 1960 newspaper article that says, “When you see a carload of youngsters, chances are one of them is riding shotgun.” The slang term is used here “literally the same way we use it today,” Barrett says.
By 1961, the Oxford English Dictionary had confirmed the timing, defining ride shotgun as “to travel in the front passenger seat of a vehicle.”
Barrett sums it up: “Basically, the term existed in the Old West, the movie Riding Shotgun relaunched it, and then we find it in the language of police and teenagers right away, and by 1960, it’s already set in the language.”
Metaphorical usage
Though the literal meaning of riding shotgun refers to sitting beside the driver, the figurative meaning goes beyond location and carries a sense of support and readiness. When someone says they’re riding shotgun for another person, it usually means they’re offering backup and companionship.
They’re not necessarily in control (that’s the driver’s role), but they’re alert, helpful and ready to assist. Metaphorically, it captures the idea of being someone’s right-hand person: backing them up, sharing the journey and helping them stay on course.
How did this phrase get so popular?
TV shows, movies and even commercials helped popularize the phrase. Kids who grew up watching Westerns heard the term and carried it into their daily lives, and the original meaning gradually faded. Instead of fending off stagecoach or train robbers, riding shotgun now simply meant claiming the front passenger seat.
Today, many people who say, “I’m riding shotgun!” have no idea it once referred to an actual guard with a weapon.
What are some synonyms for riding shotgun?
While nothing carries quite the same historical punch, a few expressions capture the idea of being the person up front next to the driver:
- Riding copilot
- Being the navigator
- Assuming the navigator role
- Taking the passenger seat
- Taking the right-hand seat
How did the phrase I call shotgun! start?
The tradition of shouting “I call shotgun!” likely grew out of childhood car rides in the mid-20th century, when having the front seat felt like a prize. It wasn’t enough to just run for it—you had to claim the spot out loud. The phrase spread quickly, thanks to schoolyard culture, family trips and eventually pop culture references in movies and sitcoms.
Saying the single word “shotgun!” is another common variation. “Basically, there was a shortening of the phrase to ride shotgun or sit shotgun to just refer to the position,” says Barrett. “You’ll find cases where people are talking about the shotgun seat. So when you’re calling shotgun, you’re calling the shotgun seat.”
He adds that this purposefully leaves off the word seat, but it’s implied. “It’s the same concept,” he says. “And again, it all refers to having that place next to the driver where you can be on the lookout for bad guys or cops or whatever it is that you’re worried about.”
Are calling shotgun and calling dibs the same thing?
Calling dibs is a similar kind of verbal claim, but broader in use. As Barrett explains, “you call dibs on anything”—the remote, the last slice of pizza, using the shower first—not just the passenger seat.
By the way, the word dibs has roots dating back to the 18th century, likely from the game of dibstones (similar to jacks). In the game, dibs referred to the small stones or knucklebones players used; to have dibs meant it was yours. Over time, kids started using dibs more generally to claim anything (toys, treats, turns or seats), and the phrase I call dibs became a natural extension of that playground custom.
From dusty trails to suburban driveways, riding shotgun has survived more than a century of linguistic evolution. It’s a rare example of a phrase that moved seamlessly from grit to playfulness—without losing its edge.
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Sources:
- Grant Barrett, linguist, lexicographer and co-host of A Way with Words; phone interview, Oct. 3, 2025
- Oxford English Dictionary: “Ride shotgun”
- Oxford English Dictionary: “Call dibs”
- Online Etymology Dictionary: “Call dibs”
- IMDB: “Riding Shotgun”
