Search for an exact word in Vim command mode

The following sequence will do what you want, given an already selected block of text:

• y (yank the selected text, into the " register by default)
• / (enter search mode)
• (\ V) (optional, enter "very no magic" mode*)
• Ctrl+r " (insert text from " register)
• Enter (Engage!)

(*) "very no magic" mode interprets the following text as plain text instead of as a regex. note however that \ and / are still special and will have to be handled in other ways. If the text does not have any characters considered special, you can skip this step.

Source: Vim Tips Wiki

You can use gn in version 7.4 onwards (and gN to go backwards). It replaces the v//e trick.

Search forward for the last used search pattern, like with `n`, and start Visual mode to select the match.

See :help gn or this Vimcast for more information.