# Synonyms - Searchline 1.x documentation

> Let a search find words your products don't use, with two-way and one-way synonyms.

Visitors don't always use your words. Someone searching for "couch" won't find your sofas, and "pot" won't find your planters. Synonyms fix that without changing your product names.

![Synonyms: two-way ("sofa, couch, settee") or one-way ("pot => planter"), one rule per line.](https://storage.extendiment.com/media/787/screenshot-6.png)

## Add synonyms

1. Go to **WooCommerce → Searchline → Synonyms**.
2. Type one rule per line in the box.
3. Click **Save synonyms**. They work straight away, no rebuild needed.

## Two kinds of rule

| Rule | What it does |
|---|---|
| `sofa, couch, settee` | **Two-way**: words separated by commas are equal. A search for any of them finds all of them. |
| `tee => t-shirt, top` | **One-way**: a search for "tee" also finds "t-shirt" and "top", but a search for "top" doesn't find "tee". |

Use one-way rules when the words aren't really equal: a search for "pot" can show planters, while a search for "planter" should stay with planters.

Either side can be several words: `phone case => cover`. Capitals and accents don't matter. Lines that don't have at least two sides are dropped when you save.

> [!TIP]
> You don't have to type rules from scratch. The [search report](search-report) lists the searches that found nothing. Hover over one and click **Add synonym**, or add Searchline's close match in one click. It adds a one-way rule here for you.

> [!TIP]
> Forgot how a rule is written? The **Help** tab at the top right of the screen has the rules in short.

## How synonyms rank

A product found through a synonym counts almost as much as one found through the word itself. On English sites the synonym's other forms are found too: with `sofa, couch`, a search for "couch" also finds products called "Sofas".

## Which searches a rule covers

You only need to type each word once. A rule also covers:

- **Other forms of its words**, on English sites: with `sofa, couch`, a search for "couches" finds the sofas too.
- **Typos**, the same as anywhere in search (see [How results are found](how-results-are-found)): "cuoch" is covered. Short words (3 letters or fewer) and words with digits must be typed as written, and a word your catalog has itself is never taken for a typo: with `sofa, couch`, a search for "coach" stays with coach products.

For several-word sides (`phone case => cover`), the search must have those words next to each other, in the same order.

## Related

- [Redirects](redirects): send a search straight to a page instead.
- [How results are found](how-results-are-found)

Source: https://extendiment.com/plugins/searchline/docs/1.x/synonyms