Furniture Joinery

noun a slot or rectangular hole cut into a piece of wood or other material, into which another part is fixed to form a joint

verb to cut a slot or hole into a piece of wood or other material

• The carpenter carefully chiseled out the mortise for the door hinge.
• Can you help me with this mortise for the cabinet door?
• I totally messed up the mortise on this project.
• His words seemed to mortise perfectly with her thoughts.

noun a groove or channel cut in a piece of wood or other material, typically forming a right angle with one side

verb to cut a groove or channel in a piece of wood or other material

• The carpenter carefully measured and cut a rabbet joint to join the pieces of wood together.
• I watched a YouTube tutorial on how to make a rabbet joint for my DIY project.
• I totally messed up the rabbet cut on this shelf, it's all crooked now.
• She had to rabbet her expectations for the event after hearing about the limited budget.