OneNote Search Syntax

Use quotation marks to find an exact phrase  

To search for an exact phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks. For example, if you type "Frank Lee" and you have notes that include the names Frank Miller, Oliver Lee, and Frank Lee, OneNote finds only those notes that include the exact phrase Frank Lee.

Use "OR" to find pages that include any word  

To search for notes that contain any of several words, type OR between each word. For example, if you type Frank OR Lee OR Oliver, OneNote finds notes that contain any of those three words.

Use uppercase and lowercase letters interchangeably  

With the exception of AND, OR, and NEAR, search is not case sensitive. For example, if you type Monday, OneNote finds notes that contain both monday and Monday.

Use "audio recording started" or "video recording started" to find audio or video notes  
When you record audio or video notes, OneNote automatically inserts the text "Audio recording started" or "Video recording started," depending on the type of recording. To search for audio notes, type audio recording started. To search for video notes, type video recording started.

Use only the first few letters of a word to expand your search results 

​If you type the first few letters of a word, OneNote finds words that contain that portion of the word. For example, if you type Tim and you have notes that include the word time, OneNote finds notes that contain both Tim and time. To avoid this, use quotation marks to search for an exact word or phrase.