[discrete]
[[esql-starts_with]]
=== `STARTS_WITH`

*Syntax*

[.text-center]
image::esql/functions/signature/starts_with.svg[Embedded,opts=inline]

*Parameters*

`str`::
String expression. If `null`, the function returns `null`.

`prefix`::
String expression. If `null`, the function returns `null`.

*Description*

Returns a boolean that indicates whether a keyword string starts with another
string.

include::types/starts_with.asciidoc[]

*Example*

[source.merge.styled,esql]
----
include::{esql-specs}/docs.csv-spec[tag=startsWith]
----
[%header.monospaced.styled,format=dsv,separator=|]
|===
include::{esql-specs}/docs.csv-spec[tag=startsWith-result]
|===