diff --git a/src/mongoose/sanitizeFormattedValue.ts b/src/mongoose/sanitizeFormattedValue.ts
index e49fd0791e..102ba11be4 100644
--- a/src/mongoose/sanitizeFormattedValue.ts
+++ b/src/mongoose/sanitizeFormattedValue.ts
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ export const sanitizeQueryValue = (schemaType: SchemaType, path: string, operato
     if (operator === 'like' && typeof formattedValue === 'string') {
       const words = formattedValue.split(' ');
       const regex = words.reduce((pattern, word, i) => {
-        return `${pattern}(?=.*\\b${word}\\b)${i + 1 === words.length ? '.+' : ''}`;
+        return `${pattern}(?=.*\\b${word}.*\\b)${i + 1 === words.length ? '.+' : ''}`;
       }, '');
 
       formattedValue = { $regex: new RegExp(regex), $options: 'i' };