re = /(?=this|that|other)(?>\s*(?:(?(1)(?!))\bthis\b()|(?(2)(?!))\bthat\b()|(?(3)(?!))\bother\b()|(?(4)(?!))\b(.+?)\b|(?(5)(?!))\b(.+?)\b|(?(6)(?!))\b(.+?)\b|(?(7)(?!))\b(.+?)\b|(?(8)(?!))\b(.+?)\b|(?(9)(?!))\b(.+?)\b)\s*){3,9}?(?=\1\2\3)/m
str = 'looking for this and that and some other thing
that rod is longer than this other one
other than this, I have nothing
ignore multiple words not before this and that or other
this and that or other, followed by a bunch of words
looking at this and A B C that some of other thing'
# Print the match result
str.scan(re) do |match|
puts match.to_s
end
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html