To determine the degree of a polynomial, you look at every term:
- if the term involves only one variable, the degree of that term is the exponent of the variable
- if the term involves more than one variable, the degree of that term is the sum of the exponents of the variables.
So, for example, the degree of  is 55, while the degree of
 is 55, while the degree of  is
 is 
Finally, the term of the degree of the polynomial is the highest degree among its terms.
So,  is a degree 2 polynomial (although it only has one term)
 is a degree 2 polynomial (although it only has one term)
similarly,  is a degree 3 polynomial: the first two terms have degree 3, because they have exponents 2 and 1.
 is a degree 3 polynomial: the first two terms have degree 3, because they have exponents 2 and 1.