The options, explained
Each switch narrows what counts as a match:
- Match case: “Summer” only finds “Summer”, not “summer” or “SUMMER”.
- Whole words only: “sale” finds “sale” but not the “sale” inside “wholesale”. Letters, numbers and underscores count as part of a word, so it works with accented words too.
- Regular expression: search with a pattern instead of exact text (see below).
- Leave Replace with empty to delete every match.
Regular expressions in a nutshell
A regular expression (regex) is a pattern for matching text. Some useful pieces:
- \d matches any digit, and \d+ matches a whole number.
- \s matches a space, tab or line break.
- . matches any single character, and .* matches anything.
- (cat|dog) matches either word, and $1 in the replacement puts back what the brackets matched.
- ^ and $ match the start and end of each line.
Handy uses
Update a product name, price or date across a long caption or email. Swap “colour” for “color” (or back) before sending to a client. Replace double spaces with single ones. Turn a list of “First Last” names into “Last, First” with the regex (\w+) (\w+) and the replacement $2, $1.
Find and replace in other apps
In Word and Google Docs on Windows, press Ctrl+H. In Google Docs on a Mac, press Cmd+Shift+H. Most code editors use Ctrl+H or Cmd+Option+F. Instagram, TikTok and most social apps have no find and replace, so drafting here first saves you editing by hand on your phone.
Frequently asked questions
How do I replace a word everywhere in my text?
Paste your text, type the word in Find and the new word in Replace with. Every match is replaced at once, and the count tells you how many changed.
How do I make it match whole words only?
Turn on Whole words only. Then “cat” matches “cat” but not “category” or “concat”.
Can I delete a word from my text?
Yes. Type it in Find and leave Replace with empty. Every match is removed.
Why does my regex show an error?
The pattern has a syntax problem, often a bracket that isn't closed or a special character like ( or ? that needs a backslash before it. Turn off Regular expression to search for the exact text instead.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is saved or sent.