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
Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
The new Michigan data dovetails with other recent surveys that show ailing consumer health.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 14 Nov. 2025
That dovetailed nicely with the offerings, including Giovanni Ferraris’s Titanium collection.
—James Manso, Footwear News, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
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Noun
The pacing is tight, Oz has never looked better and the ties with Dorothy's tale dovetail satisfyingly.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
The new Michigan data dovetails with other recent surveys that show ailing consumer health.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
Verb
An inch of rain or more fell in communities across the capital region with Thursday’s wet and windy storm, but the weekend’s dovetailing systems should pack a weaker punch, said Kate Forrest, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Sacramento.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 14 Nov. 2025
That dovetailed nicely with the offerings, including Giovanni Ferraris’s Titanium collection.
—James Manso, Footwear News, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
Cite this Entry
“Dovetail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dovetail. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
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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