[[slop]] === Mixing It Up Requiring exact-phrase matches ((("proximity matching", "slop parameter")))may be too strict a constraint. Perhaps we _do_ want documents that contain ``quick brown fox'' to be considered a match for the query ``quick fox,'' even though the positions aren't exactly equivalent. We can introduce a degree ((("slop parameter")))of flexibility into phrase matching by using the `slop` parameter: [source,js] -------------------------------------------------- GET /my_index/my_type/_search { "query": { "match_phrase": { "title": { "query": "quick fox", "slop": 1 } } } } -------------------------------------------------- // SENSE: 120_Proximity_Matching/10_Slop.json The `slop` parameter tells the `match_phrase` query how((("match_phrase query", "slop parameter"))) far apart terms are allowed to be while still considering the document a match. By _how far apart_ we mean _how many times do you need to move a term in order to make the query and document match_? We'll start with a simple example. To make the query `quick fox` match a document containing `quick brown fox` we need a `slop` of just `1`: Pos 1 Pos 2 Pos 3 ----------------------------------------------- Doc: quick brown fox ----------------------------------------------- Query: quick fox Slop 1: quick ? fox Although all words need to be present in phrase matching, even when using `slop`, the words don't necessarily need to be in the same sequence in order to match. With a high enough `slop` value, words can be arranged in any order. To make the query `fox quick` match our document, we need a `slop` of `3`: Pos 1 Pos 2 Pos 3 ----------------------------------------------- Doc: quick brown fox ----------------------------------------------- Query: fox quick Slop 1: fox|quick ? <1> Slop 2: quick ? fox Slop 3: quick ? fox <1> Note that `fox` and `quick` occupy the same position in this step. Switching word order from `fox quick` to `quick fox` thus requires two steps, or a `slop` of `2`.