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
Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025
Shira Efron, research director of the nonpartisan Israel Policy Forum, says the Israeli government's return to war dovetails with Netanyahu's need to appease his far-right political partners to maintain his coalition.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 25 Mar. 2025
Tor Constantino, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Rhetoric from the Trump administration about drawing down the U.S. presence in Europe dovetails with increasing concerns about the threat that Moscow poses the continent after the end of the Ukraine war.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
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Noun
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
Shira Efron, research director of the nonpartisan Israel Policy Forum, says the Israeli government's return to war dovetails with Netanyahu's need to appease his far-right political partners to maintain his coalition.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 25 Mar. 2025
Verb
That insight dovetails with the FDA’s own approach — a focus on governance, transparency and retaining human oversight.
—Tor Constantino, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Rhetoric from the Trump administration about drawing down the U.S. presence in Europe dovetails with increasing concerns about the threat that Moscow poses the continent after the end of the Ukraine war.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 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 25 May. 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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