---
title: Regex Phrase
description: Matches a specific sequence of regex queries
canonical: https://docs.paradedb.com/documentation/query-builder/phrase/regex-phrase
---

Regex phrase matches a specific sequence of regex queries. Think of it like a conjunction of [regex](/documentation/query-builder/term/regex)
queries, with positions and ordering of tokens enforced.

For example, the regex phrase query for `ru.* shoes` will match `running shoes`, but will not match `shoes running`.

```sql
SELECT description, rating, category
FROM mock_items
WHERE description @@@ pdb.regex_phrase(ARRAY['ru.*', 'shoes']);
```

<div className="mt-8" />

<ParamField body="phrases" required>
  An `ARRAY` of expressions that form the search phrase. These expressions must
  appear in the specified order within the document for a match to occur,
  although some flexibility is allowed based on the `slop` parameter. Please see
  [regex](/documentation/query-builder/term/regex) for allowed regex constructs.
</ParamField>
<ParamField body="slop" default={0}>
  A slop of `0` requires the terms to appear exactly as they are in the phrase
  and adjacent to each other. Higher slop values allow for transpositions and
  distance between terms.
</ParamField>
<ParamField body="max_expansions" default={16384}>
  Limits total number of terms that the regex phrase query can expand to. If
  this number is exceeded, an error will be returned.
</ParamField>