/\bd4\b.*\bb2\b|\bb2\b.*\bd4\b/ #### /\bc3\b.*(\bd4\b.*\be5\b|\be5\b.*\bd4\b) |\bd4\b.*(\bc3\b.*\be5\b|\be5\b.*\bc3\b) |\be5\b.*(\bc3\b.*\bd4\b|\bd4\b.*\bc3\b)/x #### my $want= qr/\b(?:c3|d4|e5)\b/; my $match= qr/$want.*?$want.*?$want/;