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dovetail

American  
[duhv-teyl] / ˈdʌvˌteɪl /

noun

Carpentry.

  1. a tenon broader at its end than at its base; pin.

  2. a joint formed of one or more such tenons fitting tightly within corresponding mortises.

verb (used with or without object)

  1. Carpentry. to join or fit together by means of a dovetail or dovetails.

  2. to join or fit together compactly or harmoniously.

dovetail British  
/ ˈdʌvˌteɪl /

noun

  1. a wedge-shaped tenon

  2. Also called: dovetail joint.  a joint containing such tenons

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to join by means of dovetails

  2. to fit or cause to fit together closely or neatly

    he dovetailed his arguments to the desired conclusion
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • dovetailer noun

Etymology

Origin of dovetail

First recorded in 1555–65; so named from its shape

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The two themes also dovetail neatly with the AI diffusion into the defense industries.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

And when these apparitions vanish, the text’s overriding theme—of life’s evanescence but also its beauty—does finally dovetail with the ghostly images created by the technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Gerrard and Lampard, who struggled to dovetail, were paired centrally and Scholes, who the Swede regarded as his "most talented player," was shunted left.

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2025

So it’s how can we dovetail the microaggressions that you had mentioned before, his journey, his role in leadership, and also the showmanship this man has.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 2025

Reality and the new science happened, in certain areas of physics, to dovetail quite neatly together.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.