LIKE usage and examples

Overview

LIKE matches text patterns: % represents any sequence and _ represents one character. Use the database escape rules when the wildcard itself is literal. Case sensitivity depends on collation, and patterns that start with a wildcard may not use a normal index efficiently.

Basic syntax

SELECT * FROM orders WHERE name LIKE 'A%';

Examples

LIKE example

Use A% to find order names that begin with the letter A.

Sample table

Table：orders

orders
id	customer_id	product_id	name	department	amount	status	created_at	discount
1	101	201	Alice	Sales	1200	paid	2026-01-03	0
2	102	202	Bob	IT	900	pending	2026-01-08	50
3	101	201	Cindy	Sales	1500	paid	2026-02-02	100
4	104	203	David	HR	700	cancelled	2026-02-15	0

Run result

result
id	customer_id	product_id	name	department	amount	status	created_at	discount
1	101	201	Alice	Sales	1200	paid	2026-01-03	0

Common issues

How do % and _ differ in LIKE?

% matches any number of characters, while _ matches exactly one character.

Is LIKE case-sensitive?

It depends on the database and collation, so do not assume identical behavior everywhere.

Can a leading % affect index use?

A leading wildcard often prevents effective use of a regular B-tree index and needs care on large tables.

Keep reading

WHERE SUBSTRING SELECT DISTINCT ORDER BY LIMIT BETWEEN OFFSET

LIKE