ESCAPE Clause Example
You can include the actual characters "%" or "_" in the pattern by using the ESCAPE
clause, which identifies the escape character. If the escape character appears in the pattern before the character "%" or "_" then Oracle interprets this character literally in the pattern, rather than as a special pattern matching character.
To search for employees with the pattern 'A_B' in their name:
SELECT last_name
FROM employees
WHERE last_name LIKE '%A\_B%' ESCAPE '\';
The ESCAPE
clause identifies the backslash (\) as the escape character. In the pattern, the escape character precedes the underscore (_). This causes Oracle to interpret the underscore literally, rather than as a special pattern matching character.