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n. / Retrieval
Semantic search
Definition
Semantic search finds text by meaning rather than by exact words, using embeddings to compare a query with documents. A search for "car won't start" can find a page about a dead battery.
In more detail
It handles synonyms and paraphrases well but can miss exact identifiers like error codes or product names, so many systems combine it with keyword search and rerank the merged results. Always check results on your own questions; similarity scores are not a guarantee of relevance.
Example
A search for "how do I stop being charged" returns the cancellation article even though it never uses the word "charged".
