dovetail
a tenon broader at its end than at its base; pin.
a joint formed of one or more such tenons fitting tightly within corresponding mortises.
Carpentry. to join or fit together by means of a dovetail or dovetails.
to join or fit together compactly or harmoniously.
Origin of dovetail
1Other words from dovetail
- dovetailer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dovetail in a sentence
That's the purpose behind the campaign, dovetailing with many other efforts to achieve the same effect.
The pieces are firmly dovetailed together, the front being clean and the dovetailing blind.
Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects | C. V. RileyEventually however, the bones come close together, and are joined by a curious kind of dovetailing.
An alternative method of dovetailing is that of cutting the dovetails first, as shown at Fig. 283.
Woodwork Joints | William FairhamThen at Fig. 293 are shown two familiar examples of dovetailing the bearer to the carcase end of a dressing table or washstand.
Woodwork Joints | William Fairham
This shows the necessity of bevelled dovetailing in order that the drawer front may be kept as thin and light as possible.
Woodwork Joints | William Fairham
British Dictionary definitions for dovetail
/ (ˈdʌvˌteɪl) /
a wedge-shaped tenon
Also called: dovetail joint a joint containing such tenons
(tr) to join by means of dovetails
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
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