SQL LIKE Operator

The LIKE operator is used in a WHERE clause to search for a specified pattern in a column.

There are two wildcards often used in conjunction with the LIKE operator:

  •  The percent sign (%) represents zero, one, or multiple characters
  •  The underscore sign (_) represents one, single character

The percent sign and the underscore can also be used in combinations!

LIKE Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, ...
FROM table_name
WHERE columnN LIKE pattern;

SQL LIKE Examples

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a CustomerName starting with "a":

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE 'a%';

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a CustomerName ending with "a":

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName LIKE '%a';

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE ContactName LIKE 'a%o';

The following SQL statement selects all customers with a CustomerName that does NOT start with "a":

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE CustomerName NOT LIKE 'a%';