According to one embodiment, a content addressable memory (CAM) device (100) may include a number of segments (102 or 104). Search target compare circuits (110 and 112) can compare a target value TARGET to programmable information values (PIV0 and PIV1) associated with a particular segment (102 and 104). If a search target value TARGET matches a programmable information value (PIV0 and PIV1), search operations may be performed in a segment (102 or 104). If a search target value TARGET does not match a programmable information value, (PIV0 and PIV1), search operations may be prevented within a segment (102 or 104).