import java.util.regex.*; public final class MatcherTest { private static final String REGEX = "\\bdog\\b"; private static final String INPUT = "dog dog dog doggie dogg"; public static void main(String[] argv) { Pattern p = Pattern.compile(REGEX); Matcher m = p.matcher(INPUT); // get a matcher object int count = 0; while(m.find()) { count++; System.out.println("Match number "+count); System.out.println("start(): "+m.start()); System.out.println("end(): "+m.end()); } } }