AI Terminology Course
AI Terminology
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Intermediate

Weaviate

Definition

An open-source, AI-native vector database that specializes in hybrid search, combining traditional keyword search with vector semantic search.

Explain Like I'm New

A powerful vector database you can run on your own servers. Its superpower is that it doesn't just look for 'meaning' (vectors), it also looks for exact 'keywords' (like an old search engine), and blends the results together for maximum accuracy.

Real World Example

An enterprise with strict data privacy laws cannot upload its documents to Pinecone's cloud. They deploy Weaviate locally on their own private servers to build a highly secure RAG system.

Common Use Cases

  • •Hybrid Search
  • •Self-hosted AI infrastructure

Interview Questions

basic

  • Can Weaviate be hosted locally on a developer's laptop using Docker?

intermediate

  • What is 'Hybrid Search' in Weaviate?

Flash Cards

Question

Can it be hosted locally?

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Answer

Yes. Because it is open-source, anyone can run it anywhere.

Question

What is Hybrid Search?

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Answer

An algorithm that runs both a Semantic Vector Search (finding concepts) and a BM25 Keyword Search (finding exact words) simultaneously, merging the scores to find documents that are both conceptually relevant AND contain the exact names/codes the user asked for.