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
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Acknowledging and talking through differences is the running theme, which dovetails with a plot that goes to the roots of Zootopia.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 26 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
This year, the 79-year-old guitar giant shared Oceanside Countryside, a 1977 gem whose threading of folk and country dovetails with the mood of the late-decade roots-centric offerings American Stars ’n Bars, Comes a Time, and Hawks & Doves.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Acknowledging and talking through differences is the running theme, which dovetails with a plot that goes to the roots of Zootopia.
—Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 26 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 8 Dec. 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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