guest seating; passenger seat
Refers to seats for guests, audience, or passengers in venues like theaters, stadiums, or taxis. The specific meaning depends on context.
The theater's guest seating was full.
I put my luggage on the passenger seat of the taxi.
Metonymic use: the seating area stands for the people occupying it. Common in contexts like performances or lectures.
Loud applause came from the audience.
Before the show started, the seats were almost completely full.
We sat in the front row of the audience seating.
When the performance ended, loud applause broke out from the audience.
The actor looked out over the audience from the stage.