# Truncation or using Wildcards for searching with partial search terms

Wildcards can be used to construct queries with partial search terms.

Use an asterisk \* to match any number of characters.

For example: 

> *duoden\** 

matches *duodenal, duodenectomy*, and so on.

>  *p\*diatric*

·matches *pediatric, paediatric*, and so on.

A question mark ? can be used to match 0 or any single character

For example: 

> *l?st*

 matches *last, lest, list*, and so on.

> *200?*

matches any years between *2000* and *2009*

## Important caveats to be aware of when using truncation

Wildcards cannot be added to the beginning of search terms, this generates an error.

Wildcards cannot be used in an expression enclosed with double quotes, our search engine ignores wildcards when quotes are used, and may give incorrect results.

For example, searching for 

> *“p\*diatric”*

 is equivalent to searching for 

> *p diatric*

Avoid excessive use of wildcards, as in some cases, using wildcards could affect performance of the platform.

For example, searching for 

> *comp\** 

is more resource intensive than 

> *comput\**

because in the former there are more consecutive character variations to process.

{% hint style="info" %}
Note that wildcards are not automatically [stemmed](/cabi-digital-library-help/search/word-stemming.md).
{% endhint %}


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```
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```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
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Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.