Grep unknown number of spaces (linux)

Question

Suppose you have a file named abc.txt - the file contains 2 (or generally more) lines:

word  -c           (09:35:20)
word     -c        (09:38:49)

If you run the command $ grep "word -c" abc.txt you get only the 1st line, because the number of spaces between 1 and -c does not match the 2nd line. Is there a way to fix this problem?

You cannot use grep'word1|word2' /path/to/file as the spaces between word and -c vary.

Answer 1

Use the + regex character, which will match at least one of the preceding character:

grep -E "word +-c" abc.txt

This regex reads "match 'word', followed by one or more spaces, followed by '-c'."

Answer 2

grep 'word *-c' abc.txt will work. I couldn't get grep 'word +-c' abc.txt to work.