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
Ben Sales, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2025
The rails slide into a dovetail groove in the main crossbars.
—Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 1 Mar. 2025
Jeff Cox, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2025
But now, especially with Kennedy's elevation, these ideas have moved further into the mainstream of President Donald Trump's Republican Party — a shift that seems to dovetail with the administration's ongoing efforts to channel mistrust of institutions to dismantle governmental institutions.
—Monica Potts, ABC News, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dovetail
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Noun
The March 6 number dovetails with a Gallup poll released in late February that found just 33% of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel, compared with 83% of Republicans.
—Ben Sales, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2025
The rails slide into a dovetail groove in the main crossbars.
—Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 1 Mar. 2025
Verb
But in recent days, an unexpected slide in consumer confidence that dovetailed with worries about higher inflation ahead raised the specter that the economy could be headed for some turbulence.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2025
But now, especially with Kennedy's elevation, these ideas have moved further into the mainstream of President Donald Trump's Republican Party — a shift that seems to dovetail with the administration's ongoing efforts to channel mistrust of institutions to dismantle governmental institutions.
—Monica Potts, ABC News, 12 Feb. 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 13 Mar. 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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