NEAR: proximity operator

The proximity operator NEAR is used to indicate a specific sequence for two or more words.

NEAR employs the following syntax:

near((word1, word2), N, TRUE) - N specifies the maximum number of words allowed between word1 and word2. TRUE means that the words must occur in the correct order.

near((word1, word2), N, FALSE) - FALSE means that the words may occur in any order. FALSE is always default and therefore does not need to be entered.

near((word1, word2),) – if the number 'N' and TRUE are omitted, texts are searched wherein word1 and word2 occur in any order, with a maximum of 100 words between (default: N=100).

word1 near word2 – is the same as 'near((word1, word2),)'.

near((word1, word2, word3), 3, TRUE) – more than 2 words can be entered. This is a search for texts with a maximum of 3 words between each of the words entered, with these occurring in the correct order.

near((word1, word2 or word3), 3, TRUE) – the operators AND, OR and NOT can be used inside the NEAR brackets.

near((word1, word2, word3), 3, TRUE) and word4 - NEAR can be used in combination with the operator OR, AND or NOT.