---
title: "What is the SQL DISTINCT keyword, and when it used in a search query?"  
description: "What is the SQL DISTINCT keyword, and when it used in a search query?"  
author: "Steilla Mitchel"  
published: 2023-10-09  
updated: 2023-10-10  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/160083/what-is-the-sql-distinct-keyword-and-when-it-used-in-a-search-query  
category: "mssql server"  
tags: ["mssql server", "sql server", "sql"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# What is the SQL DISTINCT keyword, and when it used in a search query?

What is the [SQL DISTINCT](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/23079/why-and-how-to-use-sql-distinct-clause) [keyword](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/33572/sql-inner-join-keyword), and when it used in a [search query](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/160075/what-is-an-sql-search-query-and-how-is-it-different-from-a-regular-sql-query)?

## Replies

### Reply by Aryan Kumar

\
The [SQL](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/13115/types-of-keys-in-sql-or-oracle-database) **[DISTINCT](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159558/why-c-sharp-linq-distinct-doesn-t-work)** keyword is used to eliminate duplicate rows from the result set of a [query](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/202/sub-query-in-sqlserver). It's particularly useful when you want to retrieve unique values from a column in a table. Here's a simple explanation of when and how it's used in a [search](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/65368/best-smo-services-company-in-hyderabad-improve-search-rankings) query:

Let's say you have a table with a column named **category**, and you want to retrieve a list of unique categories from that table.

You can use the **DISTINCT** keyword like this:

```plaintext
SELECT DISTINCT category
FROM your_table;
```

What this does is it selects all unique values from the **category** column in the **your_table**. If there are duplicate values in that column, the **DISTINCT** keyword ensures that only one instance of each unique value is returned in the result set.

So, it's used in a search query when you want to find and display only unique values from a specific column in your database table, making your query results more concise and relevant to your needs.


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/160083/what-is-the-sql-distinct-keyword-and-when-it-used-in-a-search-query

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