diff --git a/src/base/preferences.cpp b/src/base/preferences.cpp
index 61c6a3d32..39fd386ee 100644
--- a/src/base/preferences.cpp
+++ b/src/base/preferences.cpp
@@ -1429,6 +1429,16 @@ void Preferences::setSearchTabHeaderState(const QByteArray &state)
     setValue("SearchTab/qt5/HeaderState", state);
 }
 
+bool Preferences::getRegexAsFilteringPatternForSearchJob() const
+{
+    return value("SearchTab/UseRegexAsFilteringPattern", false).toBool();
+}
+
+void Preferences::setRegexAsFilteringPatternForSearchJob(const bool checked)
+{
+    setValue("SearchTab/UseRegexAsFilteringPattern", checked);
+}
+
 QStringList Preferences::getSearchEngDisabled() const
 {
     return value("SearchEngines/disabledEngines").toStringList();
diff --git a/src/base/preferences.h b/src/base/preferences.h
index 969c38553..b49765fc7 100644
--- a/src/base/preferences.h
+++ b/src/base/preferences.h
@@ -342,6 +342,8 @@ public:
     void setRssMainSplitterState(const QByteArray &state);
     QByteArray getSearchTabHeaderState() const;
     void setSearchTabHeaderState(const QByteArray &state);
+    bool getRegexAsFilteringPatternForSearchJob() const;
+    void setRegexAsFilteringPatternForSearchJob(bool checked);
     QStringList getSearchEngDisabled() const;
     void setSearchEngDisabled(const QStringList &engines);
     QString getTorImportLastContentDir() const;
diff --git a/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.cpp b/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.cpp
index 8be2a611d..3974685cc 100644
--- a/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.cpp
@@ -131,6 +131,8 @@ SearchJobWidget::SearchJobWidget(SearchHandler *searchHandler, QWidget *parent)
     m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter = new LineEdit(this);
     m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter->setFixedWidth(Utils::Gui::scaledSize(this, 170));
     m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter->setPlaceholderText(tr("Filter search results..."));
+    m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter->setContextMenuPolicy(Qt::CustomContextMenu);
+    connect(m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter, &QWidget::customContextMenuRequested, this, &SearchJobWidget::showFilterContextMenu);
     m_ui->horizontalLayout->insertWidget(0, m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter);
 
     connect(m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter, &LineEdit::textChanged, this, &SearchJobWidget::filterSearchResults);
@@ -342,10 +344,29 @@ void SearchJobWidget::fillFilterComboBoxes()
 
 void SearchJobWidget::filterSearchResults(const QString &name)
 {
-    m_proxyModel->setFilterRegExp(QRegExp(name, Qt::CaseInsensitive));
+    const QRegExp::PatternSyntax patternSyntax = Preferences::instance()->getRegexAsFilteringPatternForSearchJob()
+                    ? QRegExp::RegExp : QRegExp::WildcardUnix;
+    m_proxyModel->setFilterRegExp(QRegExp(name, Qt::CaseInsensitive, patternSyntax));
     updateResultsCount();
 }
 
+void SearchJobWidget::showFilterContextMenu(const QPoint &)
+{
+    const Preferences *pref = Preferences::instance();
+
+    QMenu *menu = m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter->createStandardContextMenu();
+    menu->addSeparator();
+    QAction *useRegexAct = new QAction(tr("Use regular expressions"), menu);
+    useRegexAct->setCheckable(true);
+    useRegexAct->setChecked(pref->getRegexAsFilteringPatternForSearchJob());
+    menu->addAction(useRegexAct);
+
+    connect(useRegexAct, &QAction::toggled, pref, &Preferences::setRegexAsFilteringPatternForSearchJob);
+    connect(useRegexAct, &QAction::toggled, this, [this]() { filterSearchResults(m_lineEditSearchResultsFilter->text()); });
+
+    menu->exec(QCursor::pos());
+}
+
 QString SearchJobWidget::statusText(SearchJobWidget::Status st)
 {
     switch (st) {
diff --git a/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.h b/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.h
index 6e4872f1e..f31167ca7 100644
--- a/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.h
+++ b/src/gui/search/searchjobwidget.h
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ private:
     void saveSettings() const;
     void updateFilter();
     void filterSearchResults(const QString &name);
+    void showFilterContextMenu(const QPoint &);
     void displayToggleColumnsMenu(const QPoint&);
     void onItemDoubleClicked(const QModelIndex &index);
     void searchFinished(bool cancelled);