Truncation

The truncation symbol expands a search term to include all forms of the root or stem of a word. You can use only one truncator in a word.

Searching for terror* will find the words terror, terrorist, and terrorism.

Wildcard

The wildcard symbol stands in for one character in a word. You can use more than one wildcard in a word.

Searching for defen?e will find defense and defence

Truncator and Wildcard Symbols Used By Individual Databases