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
Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
The favorable comparisons to internet sweepstakes cafés drawn throughout the prospectus dovetail with recent reporting by The Australian Financial Review.
—Daniel Wallach, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
He was focused on Srinivasan and his role as the promulgator of the Network State ideology, which dovetailed with other right-wing libertarian tech movements that sought to claim land and political sovereignty for tech elites.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
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Noun
Those findings – razor thin margins for Newsom – dovetail with other public polls, such as this from UC Berkeley, which showed 48% of Californians planning to vote yes, with a majority (52%) either opposed (32%) or unsure (20%).
—Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
The favorable comparisons to internet sweepstakes cafés drawn throughout the prospectus dovetail with recent reporting by The Australian Financial Review.
—Daniel Wallach, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
For Rising, his misfortune and some good timing dovetailed to put him here.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
He was focused on Srinivasan and his role as the promulgator of the Network State ideology, which dovetailed with other right-wing libertarian tech movements that sought to claim land and political sovereignty for tech elites.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 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 19 Oct. 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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