📘 Text search operators
We've already seen and played with the bulk of non-string operators, which operate straightforwardly.
Let's now turn our attention to the various string type operators.
Analysis refresher
Your documents string fields are analyzed during indexed. Search operators on string fields navigate the inverted index structure for matches. In order to match the terms as they were indexed, string operators analyze query text, just as field text is analyzed during indexing.
text
To query for individual terms, or words, of a string field.
If the query text analyzes to more than one term, the query either makes all terms optional (matchCriteria: "any"; default) or all terms mandatory (matchCriteria: "all").
fuzzy matching
The fuzzy parameter to the text operator allows terms to be matched a bit looser, such that small changes such as a single missing letter, or two letters transcribed, or a letter or two different.
The easiest way to make a text search fuzzy is by adding "fuzzy": {}. There are several nuanced options that can be set within that empty fuzzy document structure, but for now let's just go with the defaults provided by this simple addition.
phrase
The phrase operator matches a sequence of words, in proximity to one another. By default,
the words must match in the same order with no additional words in between, in other words an "exact phrase" match. Again, analysis is performed on the query to extract and analyze the terms in the same manner as they were indexed.
phrase slop
A phrase match can be a bit loose, such that it can match even if there are additional words in between the query terms in the actual documents, or if the query terms are not in the same order, but within a certain proximity. This looseness factor for phrase searches is called "slop" (blame Lucene for the terminology). A non-zero, positive, value will allow for that number of additional terms or out of order'ness. The score of a sloppy phrase clause is greater when the match is less "sloppy" (the indexed terms are closer to matching the query), and less when the match is "sloppier".