mysql>
mysql> SELECT 'a word a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]';
+----------------------------------------+
| 'a word a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]' |
+----------------------------------------+
| 1 |
+----------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
mysql>
mysql> SELECT 'a xword a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]';
+-----------------------------------------+
| 'a xword a' REGEXP '[[:<:]]word[[:>:]]' |
+-----------------------------------------+
| 0 |
+-----------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
mysql>