Yes.
Typically a LEFT OUTER JOIN is used for that.
Say you're inserting names and want to avoid inserting one that's already in the table:
INSERT INTO dbo.names_table ( name )
SELECT wt.name
FROM dbo.work_table wt
LEFT OUTER JOIN dbo.names_tables nt ON
nt.name = wt.name
WHERE
nt.name IS NULL --true only if name doesn't already exist in dbo.names_table
SQL DBA,SQL Server MVP(07, 08, 09) A socialist is someone who will give you the shirt off *someone else's* back.