Proximity operators specify the relative location of specific words in the document; that is, specified words must be in the same phrase, paragraph, or sentence for a document to be retrieved. In the case of the NEAR
and NEAR/
N operators, retrieved documents are relevance-ranked based on the proximity of the specified words. When proximity operators are nested, use the ones with the broadest scope first. Phrases or individual words can appear within SENTENCE
or PARAGRAPH
operators, and SENTENCE
operators can appear within PARAGRAPH
operators. The following table briefly describes each proximity operator; see "Operators for Searching Full Text" in Chapter 3 for examples and more detailed descriptions.