diff --git a/search_list.lua b/search_list.lua
index f7bd52f..69bf157 100644
--- a/search_list.lua
+++ b/search_list.lua
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ return function(query)
 			table.insert(results_table,word)
 		end
 	end
-	results_table = adjustTableSizes(results_table)
-	printOutputTable(results_table)
+	if #results_table ~= 0 then
+		results_table = adjustTableSizes(results_table)
+		printOutputTable(results_table)
+	else
+		print("no words found for <" .. query .. ">")
+	end
 end
\ No newline at end of file