the last word
Matches the last word. It finds the match anywhere inside the text. There is 1 capture group.
Pattern
/(\S+)\s*$/- Match scope
- anywhere inside the text
- Capture groups
- 1
- What it catches in the first example
- world
Try it yourself
Type any text and the parts this expression catches are highlighted. It runs in your browser and is never sent anywhere.
hello world
hi
1 match
Examples that match
- hello world
- hi
Examples that do not match
- ""
Other expressions in this group
-([a-z])the letter that follows a hyphen(?:^|,)("(?:[^"]|"")*"|[^,]+)one comma-separated field^([^=]+)=(.*)$a name and value split by an equals sign^\s*(\S+)the first word\d+runs of digits inside a text\b\w+\beach word, one by one\[([^\]]*)\]what sits inside square brackets\(([^)]*)\)what sits inside round bracketsHow to read this
- With ^ and $ around it, the whole string must match; without them the match can sit anywhere. Always anchor an expression you use for validation.
- Round brackets ( ) capture what they wrap. When you only need grouping, write (?: ) so the numbering of later groups does not shift.
- Every expression here is checked against its examples. Even so, "looks like an email" and "is a real inbox" remain different questions.
- Nested open-ended repeats such as (a+)+ can blow up on certain inputs. Look for that shape before pasting someone else’s expression into your code.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is the regex for the last word?
(\S+)\s*$.
Q. Which strings match?
Text like hello world matches; text like "" does not.
Q. Does the whole string have to match?
No. It finds the part anywhere inside the text. Add ^ and $ around it if you want a whole-string check.
Q. How do I use what it caught?
There is one capture group, so you can read them from match[1] onwards.