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
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Her takeover dovetails with the gallery’s upcoming 50th anniversary and the debut of a new 5,000-square-foot extension wing in October.
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025
Jeremy Pressman, The Conversation, 15 June 2025
Zuckerberg has also started pushing Meta toward defense contracts, and Scale’s government arm could dovetail with those efforts (though as Forbes previously reported, that part of its business has previously struggled to gain traction).
—Richard Nieva, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
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Noun
The emphasis on family dovetails with a previous statement from showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar that revealed the entire Addams family will be enrolling in Nevermore Academy this season.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Her takeover dovetails with the gallery’s upcoming 50th anniversary and the debut of a new 5,000-square-foot extension wing in October.
—Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025
Verb
This deployment of military personnel in a U.S. city also dovetails with the expansion of executive power characteristic of autocratic leaders.
—Jeremy Pressman, The Conversation, 15 June 2025
Zuckerberg has also started pushing Meta toward defense contracts, and Scale’s government arm could dovetail with those efforts (though as Forbes previously reported, that part of its business has previously struggled to gain traction).
—Richard Nieva, Forbes.com, 12 June 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 3 Jul. 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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