Case sensitivity and whole-word matching change the count
By default, a basic search is not case-sensitive and matches the word as part of a larger word too, so searching "cat" would also count "category." Opening "Advanced Find" and checking options like "Match case" or "Find whole words only" narrows the count to exactly what you mean.
This counts occurrences, not unique instances of formatting
The count reflects every place the text appears anywhere in the body of the document, regardless of formatting differences like bold, italics, or font size β a bolded and a plain instance of the same word are both counted. It does not, by default, search inside headers, footers, or text boxes; those need to be checked separately if relevant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this also count a word that appears inside a table or a footnote?
Yes, the basic Find feature searches the main body text including tables and footnotes; the main things it skips by default are headers, footers, and text inside text boxes.
Can I count how many times a whole phrase appears, not just a single word?
Yes. Typing a multi-word phrase into the same search box works exactly the same way and gives you a count of how many times that exact phrase occurs.