Filtering out section entries
If you want to search for entries, you can use the search parameter:

{% set people = craft.entries
    .section('people')
    .search('*xyz* OR *zzzz*') 
%}


Then, you can loop through those people like this:

{% for person in people |batch(3) %}
    {{ person.name }}
{% endfor %}


By default, search doesn't do fuzzy search, that's where the *s come in. You can, however, enable fuzzy search by default.

If you want to limit your search to a field, do:

{% craft.entries.search('fieldHandle:xyz OR fieldHandle:zzzz') %}