Illustration of dovetail
- 1 mortises
- 2 tenons
- 3 joint
: something resembling a dove's tail
especially
: a flaring tenon and a mortise into which it fits tightly making an interlocking joint between two pieces (as of wood)
dovetailed; dovetailing; dovetails
1
a
: to join by means of dovetails
b
: to cut to a dovetail
2
a
: to fit skillfully to form a whole
b
: to fit together with
: to fit together into a whole
Examples of dovetail in a Sentence
Verb
the Union and the Confederate accounts of the battle don't dovetail at all
Recent Examples on the Web
Imogen West-Knights, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
What makes An Awfully Big Adventure unique in her body of work is how perfectly both these features dovetail.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
This research dovetails with other recent studies that have shown that modest daily caffeine consumption can have positive health effects.
—New Atlas, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
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Noun
And here is where the threat from the right dovetails with the other, perhaps greater threat that Wikipedia now faces: AI.
—Imogen West-Knights, The Dial, 10 Feb. 2026
What makes An Awfully Big Adventure unique in her body of work is how perfectly both these features dovetail.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
Similar events worldwide have dovetailed with the narrative landscape of the musical, which centers on the dictator’s wife, Imelda Marcos, her rise to power and her fall from grace.
—Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
This research dovetails with other recent studies that have shown that modest daily caffeine consumption can have positive health effects.
—New Atlas, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
Cite this Entry
“Dovetail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dovetail. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dovetail
1 of 2 noun
dove·tail
-ˌtāl 
: something shaped like a dove's tail
especially
: a joint between two pieces (as of wood) formed by a wedge-shaped part that fits tightly into a wedge-shaped slot in the other piece
dovetail
2 of 2 verb1
a
: to join by means of dovetails
b
: to cut to a dovetail
2
: to fit skillfully together to form a whole
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