# Synonyms
The synonyms feature allows you to define search terms that should be considered equivalent. For eg: when you define a synonym for sneaker as shoe, searching for sneaker will now return all records with the word shoe in them, in addition to records with the word sneaker.
Typesense supports two types of synonyms:
One-way synonyms: Defining the words
iphoneandandroidas one-way synonyms ofsmart phonewill cause searches forsmart phoneto return documents containingiphoneorandroidor both.Multi-way synonyms: Defining the words
blazer,coatandjacketas multi-way synonyms will cause searches for any one of those words (eg:coat) to return documents containing at least one of the words in the synonym set (eg: records withblazerorcoatorjacketare returned).
Precedence
When using Synonyms and Overrides together, Overrides are handled first since the rules can contain instructions to replace the query. Synonyms will then work on the modified query.
# Create or update a synonym
# Multi-way synonym
# Sample Response
# One-way synonym
# Sample Response
# Definition
PUT ${TYPESENSE_HOST}/collections/:collection/synonyms/:id
# Arguments
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| synonyms | yes | Array of words that should be considered as synonyms. |
| root | no | For 1-way synonyms, indicates the root word that words in the synonyms parameter map to. |
| locale | no | Locale for the synonym, leave blank to use the standard tokenizer. |
| symbols_to_index | no | By default, special characters are dropped from synonyms. Use this attribute to specify which special characters should be indexed as is. |
# Retrieve a synonym
We can retrieve a single synonym.
# Sample Response
# Definition
GET ${TYPESENSE_HOST}/collections/:collection/synonyms/:id
# List all synonyms
List all synonyms associated with a given collection.
NOTE: By default, ALL synonyms are returned, but you can use the offset and limit parameters to
paginate on the listing.
# Sample Response
# Definition
GET ${TYPESENSE_HOST}/collections/:collection/synonyms
# Delete a synonym
Delete a synonym associated with a collection.
# Sample Response
# Definition
DELETE ${TYPESENSE_HOST}/collections/:collection/synonyms/:id