import re
precompiled_pattern = re.compile(r"(\d+)")
matches = precompiled_pattern.search("The answer is 41!")
matches.group(1)
# Out: 41
matches = precompiled_pattern.search("Or was it 42?")
matches.group(1)
# Out: 42
Compiling a pattern allows it to be reused later on in a program. However, note that Python caches recently-used expressions (docs, SO answer), so "programs that use only a few regular expressions at a time needn’t worry about compiling regular expressions".
import re
precompiled_pattern = re.compile(r"(.*\d+)")
matches = precompiled_pattern.match("The answer is 41!")
print(matches.group(1))
# Out: The answer is 41
matches = precompiled_pattern.match("Or was it 42?")
print(matches.group(1))
# Out: Or was it 42
It can be used with re.match().