How to find full words only in string

Question

How to find full words only in string

Answer 1

$str ="By ILI LIKUALAYANA MOKHTAKUALAR AND G. SURACH Datuk Dr Hasan Ali says he has no intention of joining Umno. Pic by Afendi Mohamed KUALA LUMPUR: FORMER Selangor Pas commissioner Datuk Dr Hasan Ali has not ruled out the possibility of returning to Pas' fold";
$search ="KUALA";
$pattern='/\b$search\b/';
if (preg_match($pattern, $str, $matches)) echo "FOUND AT POSITION ".$matches[1];
else echo "NOT FOUND"