What is "bucket seat"

n. A form-fitting seat for one passenger in automobiles, aircraft, and other such modes of transport.

n. a low single seat as in cars or planes

A bucket seat is a seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from bench seats which are flat platforms designed to seat multiple people. Bucket seats are standard in fast cars to keep riders in place when making sharp or quick turns. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name derives from the seat "partly resembling a bucket in shape".

Racing vehicles usually have only one bucket seat. Vehicles sold to the general public often have two bucket seats in the front compartment, and may contain more in a rear compartment. Commercial aircraft now have bucket seats for all passengers.

Automobile bucket seats first came into use after World War II on European small cars, due to:

• Their relatively small size compared to a bench seat; and
• Lack of seating room for a middle passenger, due to the presence of a floor-mounted shifter and parking brake lever.

The first motor sports and fast road bucket seats in Europe were manufactured by Colin Folwell, who subsequently founded Corbeau Seats in the UK in 1963.

The bucket seat trend was especially apparent in sporty cars, particularly two-seaters, most of which were manufactured in European nations.