- It’s relatively easy to search for words or phrases across many YouTube videos.
- You can search within a YouTube platform or use a third-party service.
Have you ever wondering if it’s possible to search within videos on YouTube to find one that contains specific words and phrases? If the answer is yes, then this short article is for you.
Because Google and other search engines do not index the YouTube video captions, you have only two options. Find a word in a specific video on the YouTube platform or use a third-party service or tool.
No worries, you will learn both ways to search for words in the video.
How to Search For Words In A Specific YouTube Video
Each browser has a built-in feature for highlighting a letter, word, or sentence. And you need to learn how to use it if you want to find the exact word in any YouTube video.
Note: This method works only for videos on YouTube that come with captions. Luckily, Youtube has a feature that is adding captions into the videos automatically. However, if you find a video without a caption, this method won’t work.
STEP 1: Go to YouTube and open any video.
STEP 2: Click on the More option (three horizontal dots) beneath the video.
STEP 3: Tap on Open transcript.
STEP 4: You will see a transcript on the right side of the video.
STEP 5: Press CTRL + F (or Command + F on a Mac), and a little bar will pop up in the top or bottom corner of the browser.
STEP 6: Then type a letter or word into the bar, and the browser will highlight every letter you have typed.
How To Search For Words In Any YouTube Video
Using a browser highlighting feature is helpful if you know the video that contains a phrase you are looking for. But there can be the situation you need to find a specific part of the tutorial or awesome punchline, but you don’t know which video it was. What now! Use YouGlish.
Important: YouGlish is a great tool, but it doesn’t work on videos with automatically generated captions. It will only find videos on YouTube where the captions have been manually added by its creators.
STEP 1: Go to YouGlish.
STEP 2: Type a word, phrase, or sentence into the search field and click Say it.
STEP 3: YouGlish will find every video that contains the phrase or word. Use the Play and Next controls beneath the video to jump to exact moments where that word or phrase appears.
Can I Search Through Comments Too?
Have you ever asked yourself, if is there any way to search through comments on YouTube? The answer is YES, you can search for Youtube comments on different videos or channels. And it’s relatively easy to do it. Take a look at this guide: How to perform a keyword search within YouTube comments.
Secure Your Online World: Stay Safe and Protected with These Tools
BITDEFENDER: Bitdefender antivirus provides advanced threat detection and real-time protection, keeping your computer and online activities safe from viruses, malware, and other online threats. Choose Bitdefender for easy-to-use features and complete peace of mind when it comes to online security.
Notion AI – A tool that is more powerful than ChatGPT. Users can write, edit, summarise, and brainstorm ideas. Notion AI is a partner to enhance your productivity. Try it for free.
NORDVPN: NordVPN offers cutting-edge encryption and a global network of servers, ensuring your online privacy and security. With fast speeds and user-friendly apps, NordVPN is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to stay safe and anonymous online.
APPSUMO: AppSumo offers exclusive discounts and lifetime access to top-rated software tools and business solutions, making it the go-to platform for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to save money and boost their productivity. With a curated selection of only the best products, AppSumo provides the most value for your money.
Disclosure: Some of the links above may contain affiliate partnerships, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Nechstar may earn a commission if you click through to make a purchase.
Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that we will receive a small commission if you purchase from one of our recommendations (at no extra cost to you).
Main photo by Charles Deluvio
To search for words across many videos, I’ve found YouGlish to be unreliable – it only searches the few thousand videos it has indexed, so you won’t get any results outside of those.
For a more reliable solution that searches *all* the videos on a YouTube channel for specific spoken words, check out https://videomentions.com/search