dowel

[dou-uh l]

See more synonyms for dowel on Thesaurus.com

noun

Also called dowel pin. Carpentry. a pin, usually round, fitting into holes in two adjacent pieces to prevent their slipping or to align them.
a piece of wood driven into a hole drilled in a masonry wall to receive nails, as for fastening woodwork.
a round wooden rod of relatively small diameter.

Dentistry. a peg, usually of metal, set into the root canal of a natural tooth to give additional support to an artificial crown.

verb (used with object), dow·eled, dow·el·ing or (especially British) dow·elled, dow·el·ling.

to reinforce or furnish with a dowel or dowels.

Origin of dowel

1300–50; Middle English dowle < Middle Low German dovel plug; compare German Döbel, Dübel, Old High German tubili

Related formsun·dow·eled, adjectiveun·dow·elled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dowel

peg, pin

Examples from the Web for dowel

Historical Examples of dowel

Dowel, Dobet and Dobest have two or three different meanings.
A Literary History of the English People
Jean Jules Jusserand
The dowel should be dipped in glue and inserted when the glue is applied to the joint.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes
A-1 is the distance from the working edge of the rail to the first dowel.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes
Duledge was also used for dowel, the wooden pin connecting the felloes.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
Bore the holes in the posts and the railing for the dowel pins.
Mission Furniture
H. H. Windsor

British Dictionary definitions for dowel

dowel

noun

a wooden or metal peg that fits into two corresponding holes to join two adjacent partsAlso called: dowel pin

Word Origin for dowel

C14: from Middle Low German dövel plug, from Old High German tubili; related to Greek thuphos wedge

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

Word Origin and History for dowel

mid-14c., dule "rim or section of a wheel," perhaps akin to Middle Low German dovel "plug, tap" (of a cask). Modern meaning is first attested 1794.