AI engineering glossary · RAG vector search
What is query decomposition?
Query decomposition: Splitting a complex, multi-part question into simpler sub-questions, retrieving evidence for each one separately and then combining the findings into one answer. It helps when no single passage contains everything the question needs.
Query decomposition: an example
'Compare the leave policy in India and the US' becomes two sub-queries, one per country.
Related terms
More RAG vector search terms
- Query expansion
- Query rewriting
- RAG evaluation
- Ragas
- RAPTOR
- Re-embedding
- Recall-latency trade-off
- Reciprocal rank fusion
Where you learn it
Query decomposition is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.