How to Search Tweets by Exact Phrase
To search tweets by exact phrase on X, put the words in double quotes, for example "customer service", so X returns only posts with those words together and in that order.
To search tweets by exact phrase on X, put the words in double quotes, for example "customer service", so X returns only posts with those words together and in that order. Quotes also stop X from correcting your spelling. Add from:username or dates to narrow the results.
Exact phrases are the most precise keyword filter in the Twitter advanced search operators reference. The broader keyword method is in how to search tweets by keyword.
How Do You Search an Exact Phrase on X?
You search an exact phrase by wrapping it in straight double quotes in the search bar, or by entering it in the This exact phrase field of the Advanced search form. X’s advanced search supports posts containing exact phrases (X Help Center). Listed below are the 3 steps.
- Type the phrase in quotes:
"state of the art". - Press Enter.
- Open Latest for every match in time order.
How Does X Match an Exact Phrase?
X matches a quoted phrase word for word, treats hyphens as spaces, and turns off spelling correction for the words inside. So "state of the art" also matches state-of-the-art (twitter-advanced-search reference). Case doesn’t matter.
Quotes also stop signal words from changing your search: photo alone is read as a request for posts with photos, while "photo" finds posts containing the word.
Exact Phrase Search Examples
These exact phrase searches combine quotes with the filters people use most. Replace the phrase, handle and dates.
| Goal | Query |
|---|---|
| A phrase | "customer service" |
| A phrase from one account | from:username "customer service" |
| A phrase in a date range | "customer service" since:2025-01-01 until:2025-07-01 |
| Either of two phrases | "customer service" OR "customer support" |
| A phrase, without another | "customer service" -"call center" |
| A phrase with one unknown word | "worst * ever" |
| A phrase in popular posts | "customer service" min_faves:100 |
| A phrase, no reposts | "customer service" -filter:retweets |
How Do You Use a Wildcard in an Exact Phrase?
Put an asterisk inside the quotes where one word is unknown: "this is the * time". The wildcard works only inside a quoted phrase and only with spaces around it (twitter-advanced-search reference).
How Do You Search Several Exact Phrases?
To search several exact phrases, join them with uppercase OR and group them in parentheses when you add other filters. ("customer service" OR "customer support") from:username returns that account’s posts with either phrase. OR searches are covered in how to search multiple keywords on X with OR.
Why Does an Exact Phrase Search Return Nothing?
An exact phrase search returns nothing when the phrase in the post differs by one word, when curly quotes replaced straight quotes, or when the post is outside the search index. Listed below are the 3 fixes.
- Shorten the phrase to its most distinctive 2 or 3 words.
- Retype the quotes as straight quotes; phones often insert curly ones.
- Replace an uncertain word with
*.
How to Collect Exact Phrase Matches With apidojo
apidojo’s Tweet Scraper V2 on Apify runs quoted-phrase queries exactly as X does and exports every match as JSON, CSV or Excel. Escape the quotes inside JSON with a backslash.
{
"searchTerms": ["\"customer service\" -filter:retweets lang:en"],
"sort": "Latest"
}It costs $0.40 per 1,000 tweets (Apify). See how to scrape tweets by keyword and the apidojo Twitter Scraper.
Questions people ask
Is Twitter exact phrase search case-sensitive?
No, 'Customer Service' and 'customer service' return the same posts.
Does exact phrase search match hashtags?
No, a hashtag is one token; search #customerservice separately or add it with OR.
Can you exclude an exact phrase?
Yes, put a minus sign before the quotes: -'call center'. More in how to exclude words from Twitter search.