Partial search results in Notes app instead of whole word matches

Several updates ago, I was able to search for a word within the Notes app and find notes that contained that word. This was very helpful when, for example, I needed to quickly look up my car's VIN number. I could search "VIN" and it would show up.

For a while now, whenever I search a word or even a phrase, it includes partial results. So, when I search VIN, I get tons of hits with Notes highlighting giving or savings. I have tried search VIN with a space before and after the word, but it doesn't change the results. Searching in quotes (i.e. "VIN") shows no results, because I don't have a Note with VIN in quotes.

I don't want to hashtag every important word, because I would have hundreds of hashtags, and that defeats the point of the search feature. I feel like I must be missing something, right?

This happens on my MacBook, on my old iPhone 11, on my new iPhone 16 Pro, and I have always kept them up to date with the latest iOS updates. Is there a new way to search or something to toggle on/off that I am unaware of within the Notes app? Or is this something I should submit feedback.

Thank you for your help! :)

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Should I change how I search in Notes? It shows partial matches instead of whole word matches only, like it used to.