php if string like code example

Example 1: php check if string contains word

$myString = 'Hello Bob how are you?';
if (strpos($myString, 'Bob') !== false) {
    echo "My string contains Bob";
}

Example 2: like %% inside the string php

strpos('STRING', 'SEARCH_ITEM');

--------------OR--------------------
  
preg_match('~' . preg_quote('.SEARCH_ITEM.', '~') . '~', 'STRING');