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
EW.com, 6 Aug. 2025
And its high-riding, good-visibility seating position dovetails with the current craze for high-riding SUVs.
—The Detroit News, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
Alvin Kan, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
The club wanted a midfielder to partner Boubacar Kamara, somebody who was able to dovetail while offering more progression and attacking output than the France international.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 12 Aug. 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.
—EW.com, 6 Aug. 2025
And its high-riding, good-visibility seating position dovetails with the current craze for high-riding SUVs.
—The Detroit News, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
Public rails that settle around the clock can dovetail with private PayFi wallets, offering consumer safeguards familiar from card schemes while keeping open-source efficiency under the hood.
—Alvin Kan, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
The club wanted a midfielder to partner Boubacar Kamara, somebody who was able to dovetail while offering more progression and attacking output than the France international.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 12 Aug. 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 Aug. 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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