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
Synonyms
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
Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 27 Nov. 2023
The Gates foundation policy dovetails with calls by some open-access advocates to de-emphasize the role of journal articles in quality control and professional evaluations.
—Byjeffrey Brainard, science.org, 1 Apr. 2024
These ties to history dovetail nicely with the Akua founders’ habit of creating collections inspired by recollections of events and people; a meal shared, for example, or a book read (Blixen takes its name from the author of Out of Africa).
Josefine Frank Arthur and Annika Zobel Agerled.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024
And within that, the music and the dialogue dovetail in a pretty intricate way.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2024
This is one reason parents of young children tend to clump together: Their moments of mutual distraction dovetail well at this stage of life.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2023
How does that dovetail with your explanation of how myth cycles have taken root on the Internet?
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Dec. 2023
How does your work dovetail with others at NYU Tandon?
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 Dec. 2022
The idea of a relatively unknown Swede crafting top-shelf jazz in 2023 dovetails with the wider visibility of the genre at large, a development Wunder says may be a reaction to increasing use of AI technology in music creation.
—Jonathan Cohen, Spin, 28 Sep. 2023
Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
But tentative maps created back in 2011 envision two possible routes through the county that both end at San Diego International Airport, an idea that could dovetail with more recent plans to bring local mass transit to the airport.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2024
The subsequent scenes find Laroi discussing the joys, pressures, and anxieties brought on by so much fame, and how his popularity dovetailed with the death of his friend and mentor, Juice WRLD.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
This dovetails with a resurgence in Art Deco, the movement most closely associated with Lempicka, and with the current vogue for re-evaluating women who have been maligned or belittled by the art historical canon.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
The one-week rerelease commences Feb. 23 and will dovetail into the debut of Villeneuve’s film on March 1.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2024
These findings dovetail with a gloomy Pew survey published last month.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
Coincidentally or not, the release of Saint Cloud dovetailed with the beginning of a surge in cultural interest around countryish aesthetics, now seen everywhere from Beyoncé to Oliver Anthony to the rise of the proudly Southern indie rock band Wednesday.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2024
That dovetailed with an account given by an aid group, ActionAid, which said that a doctor at Al-Awda maternity hospital in northern Gaza had told the group that malnourished mothers were giving birth to stillborn children.
—Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Noun
And this year, the dates for Marrakech (Nov. 24-Dec. 2) and Red Sea (Nov. 30-Dec. 9) dovetail.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 27 Nov. 2023
The Gates foundation policy dovetails with calls by some open-access advocates to de-emphasize the role of journal articles in quality control and professional evaluations.
—Byjeffrey Brainard, science.org, 1 Apr. 2024
These ties to history dovetail nicely with the Akua founders’ habit of creating collections inspired by recollections of events and people; a meal shared, for example, or a book read (Blixen takes its name from the author of Out of Africa).
Josefine Frank Arthur and Annika Zobel Agerled.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024
And within that, the music and the dialogue dovetail in a pretty intricate way.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2024
This is one reason parents of young children tend to clump together: Their moments of mutual distraction dovetail well at this stage of life.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2023
How does that dovetail with your explanation of how myth cycles have taken root on the Internet?
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Dec. 2023
How does your work dovetail with others at NYU Tandon?
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 Dec. 2022
The idea of a relatively unknown Swede crafting top-shelf jazz in 2023 dovetails with the wider visibility of the genre at large, a development Wunder says may be a reaction to increasing use of AI technology in music creation.
—Jonathan Cohen, Spin, 28 Sep. 2023
Verb
Perhaps more than any other example, this shows how closely early fan culture, particularly among the Southern California teenagers who launched San Diego Comic-Con, dovetailed with broader social and cultural forces that drove a turbulent period in American history.
—Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
But tentative maps created back in 2011 envision two possible routes through the county that both end at San Diego International Airport, an idea that could dovetail with more recent plans to bring local mass transit to the airport.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2024
The subsequent scenes find Laroi discussing the joys, pressures, and anxieties brought on by so much fame, and how his popularity dovetailed with the death of his friend and mentor, Juice WRLD.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
This dovetails with a resurgence in Art Deco, the movement most closely associated with Lempicka, and with the current vogue for re-evaluating women who have been maligned or belittled by the art historical canon.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
The one-week rerelease commences Feb. 23 and will dovetail into the debut of Villeneuve’s film on March 1.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2024
These findings dovetail with a gloomy Pew survey published last month.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
Coincidentally or not, the release of Saint Cloud dovetailed with the beginning of a surge in cultural interest around countryish aesthetics, now seen everywhere from Beyoncé to Oliver Anthony to the rise of the proudly Southern indie rock band Wednesday.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2024
That dovetailed with an account given by an aid group, ActionAid, which said that a doctor at Al-Awda maternity hospital in northern Gaza had told the group that malnourished mothers were giving birth to stillborn children.
—Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dovetail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dovetail
Cite this Entry
“Dovetail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dovetail. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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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