| Syntax | Example | Meaning |
| word1 word2 | CRISPR gene editing | All words/terms (AND) |
| word1 | word2 | "dark matter" | "dark energy" | At least one word/term (OR) |
| "exact phrase" | "gravitational waves" | Exact phrase match |
| (expr1 | expr2) | "stem cells" (therapy | treatment) | Grouping |
| "w1 w2"~N | "vaccine efficacy"~5 | Within N words of each other |
| w1 NEAR/N w2 | "black hole" NEAR/10 "event horizon" | Near each other (any order) |
| w1 NOTNEAR/N w2 | radiation NOTNEAR/100 microwave | First term NOT within N words of the second |
| "w1 * w2" | "basic * spectroscopy" | Exactly one word in between |
| -word | quantum -computing | Exclude documents containing word |
Click any syntax above for detailed docs & more examples ↓
Implicit AND word1 word2
Words separated by spaces are treated as an AND search. All words must appear somewhere in the transcript or document, but they don't have to be right next to each other.
CRISPR gene editing - Videos discussing CRISPR alongside gene editing
superconductor room temperature - Superconductor research at room temperature
exoplanet atmosphere spectroscopy - Exoplanet atmospheric analysis via spectroscopy
mitochondria ATP synthesis - Cellular energy production discussions
Do not type the word "AND" as a keyword—it is treated as a literal word, not an operator. Just separate terms with spaces.
OR Operator |
Use the pipe symbol | to match any of the alternatives. This is especially useful for synonyms or transcription variations in auto-generated captions.
"dark matter" | "dark energy" - Either cosmological concept
"CRISPR cas9" | "CRISPR-Cas9" | "CRISPR Cas 9" | "CRISPR c.a.s.9" | "crisper cas9" | "crisper cas 9" | "krisper cas 9" | "krisper cas9" - Catch various transcription variants
"mRNA" | "messenger RNA" | "messenger R.N.A." - Various ways mRNA is spoken and transcribed
"H2O" | "water molecule" | "dihydrogen monoxide" - Different names for the same compound
"CO2" | "carbon dioxide" | "CO 2" - Emissions data across transcription styles
Exact Phrase "..."
Wrap words in double quotes to search for an exact, ordered phrase.
"gravitational waves" - Exact phrase, not just both words separately
"general relativity" - Matches only this exact sequence
"polymerase chain reaction" - The full name of PCR
"standard model of particle physics" - Precise physics term
Grouping ( )
Use parentheses to combine operators and build complex queries.
"stem cells" (therapy | treatment | transplant) - Stem cells AND any clinical application
(CRISPR | "gene editing") ("sickle cell" | "cystic fibrosis") - Gene editing in the context of specific diseases
("supernova" | "neutron star") ("magnetic field" | magnetar) - Stellar remnants with magnetic phenomena
("deep learning" | "neural network") (protein | genomics) -tutorial - AI applied to biology, excluding tutorials
Proximity "w1 w2"~N
Matches when the words appear within N words of each other (up to N words in between). The order of the words does not matter.
"vaccine efficacy"~5 - "vaccine" and "efficacy" within 5 words of each other
"tumor suppressor"~3 - Close mentions of tumor suppressor genes
"ocean acidification"~8 - These terms discussed in close proximity
"antibiotic resistance"~4 - Antibiotic resistance mentions in a tight context
NEAR w1 NEAR/N w2
Finds two terms within N words of each other, in any order. This also works with exact phrases and grouped terms.
"black hole" NEAR/10 "event horizon" - Black holes discussed near event horizons
"clinical trial" NEAR/15 "phase three" - Clinical trials near phase 3 mentions
"James Webb" NEAR/20 "exoplanet" - JWST observations related to exoplanets
("dopamine" | "serotonin") NEAR/10 ("receptor" | "pathway") - Neurotransmitters near biological mechanism terms
(filmot|philmont|philmot|filmont) NEAR\15 (youtube|subtitles|captions|transcript|transcripts) - Combines the OR operator (|) to catch multiple variations of a mis-transcribed word alongside a list of nearby relevant terms, helping to filter out false positives.
NOTNEAR w1 NOTNEAR/N w2
Finds the first word only if the second word is NOT within N words. This is more precise than using -word, which excludes the entire video. Maximum allowed distance: 500 words.
radiation NOTNEAR/100 microwave - Radiation mentions not about microwaves
"nuclear energy" NOTNEAR/60 weapons - Nuclear energy not in a weapons context
"genetic modification" NOTNEAR/100 "conspiracy" - GMO science, skipping conspiracy segments
evolution NOTNEAR/60 debate - Evolution discussed outside debate contexts
Wildcard "w1 * w2"
An asterisk (*) inside a quoted phrase acts as a placeholder for exactly one word. This is useful when you know the surrounding words but not the middle one. It can be combined with the OR operator (|) and multiple asterisks for precise proximity matching.
"observed * decay" - Matches "observed radioactive decay", "observed beta decay", "observed exponential decay", etc.
"basic * spectroscopy" | "basic * * spectroscopy" | "basic * * * spectroscopy" - Matches "basic mass spectroscopy", "basic principles of spectroscopy", "basic idea about NMR spectroscopy" etc. Useful for fuzzy matching a specific word order.
"professor * explained" - Any professor's name in between
"discovered * beneath" - Matches "discovered gold beneath", "discovered microbes beneath", etc.
NOT / Exclude -word
Add a hyphen (-) before a word to exclude any video where that word appears anywhere in the transcript or document.
quantum -computing - Quantum physics, excluding computing topics
"nuclear fusion" -fission - Fusion only, skipping fission discussions
neuroscience -psychology -self-help - Hard neuroscience, excluding pop-sci
"climate change" -politics -debate - Scientific climate content, not political
Why prefer NOTNEAR? Using
-word removes the entire video, even if the excluded term appears just once and is completely unrelated to your search.
NOTNEAR only filters out matches where the terms are close together. This allows you to keep relevant results even if the excluded word happens to appear elsewhere in the transcript.
Title Search
The Title search field supports all of these operators too! You can use exact phrases, OR, grouping, and more when searching titles. The title filter is available on the left sidebar under "Filters," or in the main search form under Metadata search.
