diff --git a/contrib/editmerge b/contrib/editmerge
index bec1a579ebc4af13af39bc6c5e15d295c71fc883_Y29udHJpYi9lZGl0bWVyZ2U=..58b04a538caabcce894e57a5082ca8b1900d2829_Y29udHJpYi9lZGl0bWVyZ2U= 100755
--- a/contrib/editmerge
+++ b/contrib/editmerge
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 FILE=$1
 
 getlines() {
-  grep -n "<<<<<<" $FILE | cut -f1 -d:
+  grep -n "^<<<<<<" $FILE | cut -f1 -d:
 }
 
 # editor preference loosely based on https://mercurial-scm.org/wiki/editor