INSERT INTO cities VALUES ('London');
INSERT INTO cities VALUES ('Paris');
INSERT INTO cities VALUES ('Rome');
SELECT name FROM cities WHERE name RLIKE 'A|B|R';
-- or
SELECT name FROM cities WHERE name REGEXP 'A|B|R';
-- or using LIKE
SELECT name FROM cities WHERE name LIKE '%A%' OR name LIKE '%B%' OR name LIKE '%R%'
SELECT name FROM cities WHERE name RLIKE '^A|^B|^R';
-- or
SELECT name FROM cities WHERE name REGEXP '^A|^B|^R';
-- or using LIKE
SELECT name FROM cities WHERE name LIKE 'A%' OR name LIKE 'B%' OR name LIKE 'R%'