Combine Search Terms Using NOT (#15)

Some resources will allow you to combine your keywords in different ways. One of those ways is to combine terms using the word “not”.

Venn diagram demonstrating exclusion of one search term

You use NOT to exclude a specific term from your search results.

For example you may be looking for “kidney disease” but you don’t want any search results relating to hypertension. By searching for “kidney disease” NOT hypertension you will exclude all the items with the search term hypertension.

You can learn more about how to combine search terms by completing our etutorial Develop Your Search Skills.