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How to use advanced syntax on DuckDuckGo Search

DuckDuckGo supports search syntax you can use to fine-tune your queries.

Search Operators

ExampleResult
cats dogsResults about cats or dogs
"cats and dogs"Results for exact term "cats and dogs". If no or few results are found, we'll try to show related results.
~"cats and dogs"Experimental syntax: more results that are semantically similar to "cats and dogs", like "cats & dogs" and "dogs and cats" in addition to "cats and dogs".
cats -dogsFewer dogs in results
cats +dogsMore dogs in results
cats filetype:pdfPDFs about cats. Supported file types: pdf, doc(x), xls(x), ppt(x), html
dogs site:example.comPages about dogs from example.com
cats -site:example.comPages about cats, excluding example.com
intitle:dogsPage title includes the word "dogs"
inurl:catsPage URL includes the word "cats"

If advanced syntax was used in a query and no results are found, we’ll try to show related results.

Please note: we are aware some of our advanced syntax isn't operating 100% correctly on all queries and are actively working on it. It is unfortunately a non-trivial issue given we get our private results from a variety of sources.

Search Directly on Other Sites

  • Use \ to go to directly to the first search result. For example, \futurama.
  • Use ! to search other sites' search engines directly. Remember, though, because your search is actually taking place on that other site, you are subject to that site’s policies, including its data collection practices. For example, !a blink18 searches Amazon.com for blink182. There are thousands of sites covered!
  • Add !safeon or !safeoff to the end of your search to turn on and off safe search for that search.
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