diff --git a/lib/search.rb b/lib/search.rb
index 020b58352ae..35e370b1e90 100644
--- a/lib/search.rb
+++ b/lib/search.rb
@@ -196,7 +196,6 @@ class Search
         @valid = false
         return
       end
-      @term = terms.join(' ') if @term.include?(' ')
     end
 
     # If the term is a number or url to a topic, just include that topic
diff --git a/spec/components/search_spec.rb b/spec/components/search_spec.rb
index 8c478b8b2e9..23d29ea53e9 100644
--- a/spec/components/search_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/search_spec.rb
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ describe Search do
     expect(search.term).to eq('')
   end
 
-  it 'does not search for multiple small terms' do
+  it 'needs at least one term that hits the length' do
     search = Search.new('a b c d', min_search_term_length: 5)
     search.execute
     expect(search.valid?).to eq(false)
@@ -81,11 +81,11 @@ describe Search do
     expect(search.term).to eq('"a b c d"')
   end
 
-  it 'discards short terms' do
+  it 'searches for short terms if one hits the length' do
     search = Search.new('a b c okaylength', min_search_term_length: 5)
     search.execute
     expect(search.valid?).to eq(true)
-    expect(search.term).to eq('okaylength')
+    expect(search.term).to eq('a b c okaylength')
   end
 
   it 'escapes non alphanumeric characters' do