if ( grep(/^$path$/, @directories) ) { #exact input to array element s
+earch
  print "$path exists in the array of directories";
}
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that's how i'd do it. If grep() gets anything (in the conditional if statement), the program will tell you that your input exists in the array. If you want partial searches in the array, remove the ^ or $ or both depending on whether you want your input to exist in the beginning or the ending or anywhere of each array element.