Match the beginning and end of words, respectively( [[
mysql> mysql> SELECT 'a word a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]'; +----------------------------------------+ | 'a word a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]' | +----------------------------------------+ | 1 | +----------------------------------------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
mysql> mysql> SELECT 'a xword a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]'; +-----------------------------------------+ | 'a xword a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]' | +-----------------------------------------+ | 0 | +-----------------------------------------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec)