Meaning & use
dovetail
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A joint made by cutting interlocking wedge shapes into two pieces of wood so they fit tightly together.
Grammar: Countable: a dovetail, two dovetails. Often used before another noun: dovetail joint.
Patterns
- a dovetail joint
- cut a dovetail
- fit together with dovetails
The drawer is held together by a dovetail joint.
He cut a dovetail in each board so they would lock together.
Dovetails are strong because the angled shapes resist pulling apart.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To fit or combine closely and neatly, especially so that different parts work well together.
Grammar: Can take an object (dovetail something) or be used without one, often followed by with: dovetail with something.
Patterns
- dovetail with something
- dovetail something with something
- dovetail together
Her research interests dovetail neatly with the department's goals.
We need to dovetail the two schedules so everyone can attend.
The two plans dovetail perfectly.
Word forms
| plural | dovetails |
|---|---|
| third person singular | dovetails |
| past tense | dovetailed |
| past participle | dovetailed |
| -ing form | dovetailing |
Common combinations
- dovetail joint
- The carpenter made a dovetail joint for the drawer.
- dovetail with
- His skills dovetail with what the company needs.
- dovetail neatly
- The two stories dovetail neatly.
- dovetail together
- The pieces dovetail together to form a strong box.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interlock
- Interlock means to fit together by overlapping parts, often used for mechanical parts, while dovetail suggests a neat, close match.
- mesh
- Mesh means to fit together like the teeth of gears; dovetail is more often used for plans or ideas that combine well.
- correspond
- Correspond means to match or be similar, but it does not suggest the close, deliberate fitting that dovetail does.
Word family
- dovetailed adjective
- Joined with a dovetail joint, or closely fitted together.
- dovetailing noun
- The act or result of fitting things closely together.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses "dovetail" correctly.
Choose one answer.
Dovetail is intransitive here and means 'fit together well'; it does not need 'with' or 'in' when the subject is plural and already implies mutual fitting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dovetail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.