> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://algolia.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Customize stop words

> Learn how to customize stop words dictionaries through the dashboard.

export const SearchQuery = () => <Tooltip tip="The text users enter into a search box. In the Search API, this corresponds to the query parameter. A search query is often used with filters, facets, and other parameters, but these aren't part of the query text itself.">
    search query
  </Tooltip>;

export const Records = () => <Tooltip tip="A record is a searchable object in an Algolia index. Each record consists of named attributes." cta="Algolia records" href="/doc/guides/sending-and-managing-data/prepare-your-data#algolia-records">
    records
  </Tooltip>;

export const Index = () => <Tooltip tip="An Algolia index is a searchable dataset that consists of records and configuration settings. These settings define how the records are searched and ranked.">
    index
  </Tooltip>;

export const Application = () => <Tooltip tip="An Algolia application is a self-contained environment with its own indices, configuration, and API keys. Applications don't share data or settings with each other.">
    application
  </Tooltip>;

Stop words are the most common words in a language,
such as "the", "that", and "it" in English.
These words don't provide helpful clues in a search.
They appear in a wide range of <Records />, even unrelated ones, leading to false positives in the search results.

When searching, people may use only keywords and already remove these words themselves.
However, if your users tend to search with these words, or with a natural language syntax, as is common in [voice search](/doc/guides/solutions/ecommerce/voice-search),
it's a good idea to remove stop words from the <SearchQuery />.
This is precisely what the [`removeStopWords`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/removeStopWords) feature does.

This parameter relies on language-specific stop word dictionaries, which Algolia maintains for around 50 languages.
You can add, turn off, and delete stop words from them using your [Algolia dashboard](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/stopwords).

**Stop words dictionaries are applied at the <Application /> rather than <Index /> level.**
If you want to ignore certain words only when searching certain indices,
consider using the [`optionalWords`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/optionalWords) feature.

<Note>
  Use `removeStopWords` and other language-specific features in conjunction with the [`queryLanguages`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/queryLanguages) setting.
  For more information, see [Set an index's query language](/doc/guides/managing-results/optimize-search-results/handling-natural-languages-nlp/how-to/how-to-set-an-index-query-language).
</Note>

## Inspecting stop words

If you want to see which stop words are already included in the default dictionary for a particular language,
you can search and filter stop words in the Algolia dashboard.
For example, you can filter the dictionary for words that Algolia provided by default, words you added,
and you can filter for active and inactive stop words.

{/* `disabled` is in the dashboard UI  */}

1. Select the **Search** product icon on your dashboard.
2. Go to the [**Dictionaries** page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/stopwords) in the left sidebar menu of the dashboard.
3. Search for and select the language whose stop words you want to inspect on the screen's top right. **Stop words dictionaries are language-specific.**
4. Select the **Words Ignored** dictionary.
5. You can search for a specific stop word by typing it into the input bar.
6. Using the **Filter** button, you can filter stop words by **Status** (Enabled or Disabled) or by **Type** (provided by Algolia, or words you added yourself).

## Disabling and deleting stop words

You may find that a particular stop word is important to your use case and want to disable it from a dictionary.

For example, "down" is a stop word that you might remove from searches. If your product catalog includes "down jackets" as well as other (not down) jackets, then this word is a crucial signifier and needs to be included in queries for the most relevant results.

In this case, you need to disable the stop word from taking effect.

1. Select the **Search** product icon on your dashboard.
2. Go to the [**Dictionaries** page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/stopwords) in the left sidebar menu of the dashboard.
3. Search for and select the language whose stop words you want to customize on the screen's top right. **Stop words dictionaries are language-specific.**
4. Select the **Words Ignored** dictionary.
5. Use the input bar to search for a stop word to see if it exists.
6. If you added the stop word, you can either delete it entirely by clicking the **Remove** button with a trash can icon or temporarily disable it using the **Disable** button.
7. If the stop word is provided by Algolia, you can only **Disable** it, using the **Disable** button.
8. Select **Review and Save** to save this and any other changes.

You can also delete or disable multiple stop words simultaneously by clicking the respective buttons next to each stop word, then reviewing the changes at once.

## Adding custom stop words

You may find that your users are searching with words that don't signify any essentials differences between results and may not appear in your records at all.

For example, your users could be searching with your brand name, even though they're already on your site. Since all your records are of this brand, the brand name may not appear anywhere in your records.

In this case, it helps to make the brand name a stop word, as it's already understood and doesn't need to be searched for.

1. Select the **Search** product icon on your dashboard.
2. Go to the [**Dictionaries** page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/stopwords) in the left sidebar menu of the dashboard.
3. Search for and select the language whose stop words you want to customize on the screen's top right. **Stop words dictionaries are language-specific.**
4. Select the **Words Ignored** dictionary.
5. Use the input bar to search for a stop word to see if it exists.
6. If it doesn't exist, select the **+ (Add as a custom stop word)** button to add it to your stop words dictionary for this language.
7. Select **Review and Save** at the bottom of the screen to save this and any other changes. After you add a word to a dictionary, it's active by default.

## Creating your own custom stop word dictionary

You may have curated your own list of stop words for your use case. To apply only stop words you provided, you can turn off all Algolia-provided stop words using the **Actions** button. Then, add your own stop words manually or upload them in bulk.

<Note>
  Even if you want to create a completely custom, language-agnostic dictionary, you still need to select a particular language's dictionary to customize. Then, be sure to set this language as the [`queryLanguages`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/queryLanguages) and enable [`removeStopWords`](/doc/api-reference/api-parameters/removeStopWords).
</Note>

1. Select the **Search** product icon on your dashboard.
2. Go to the [**Dictionaries** page](https://dashboard.algolia.com/dictionaries/stopwords) in the left sidebar menu of the dashboard.
3. Search for and select the language whose stop words you want to customize on the screen's top right. **Stop words dictionaries are language-specific.**
4. Select the **Words Ignored** dictionary.
5. Click the **Actions** button with the gear icon and select **Disable Algolia words**.
6. Click the **Actions** button with the gear icon and select **Upload your list of words**.
7. Drop and drag or select a CSV or JSON file with your stop words. See the examples below for the expected format.

### Create a custom stop word dictionary in CSV format

```csv CSV theme={"system"}
word, language, state, objectID, type
custom, en, enabled, 1, custom
stop, en, disabled, 2, custom
words, en, enabled, 3, custom
```

### Create a custom stop word dictionary in JSON format

```json JSON icon=braces theme={"system"}
[
  {
    "word": "custom",
    "language": "en",
    "state": "enabled",
    "objectID": 1,
    "type": "custom"
  },
    {
    "word": "stop",
    "language": "en",
    "state": "disabled",
    "objectID": 2,
    "type": "custom"
  },
    {
    "word": "words",
    "language": "en",
    "state": "enabled",
    "objectID": 3,
    "type": "custom"
  }
]
```

Using the **Actions** button, you can also download all custom stop words from a dictionary, either in CSV or JSON format. You may choose to do this as part of your maintenance workflow to keep track of which custom stop words you added or enabled at a particular time.