what is a polynomial

A polynomial is a mathematical expression consisting of variables and coefficients that involves only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and positive-integer powers of variables. The word polynomial comes from the Greek word "poly" meaning "many" and "nominal" meaning "terms". Polynomials can have constants, variables, and exponents, but never division by a variable. They can have one or more terms, but not an infinite number of terms. Based on the number of terms present in the expression, polynomials are classified as monomial, binomial, and trinomial. The degree of a polynomial is the highest power of the variable in the polynomial. Polynomials are used in various fields of mathematics, including algebra and algebraic geometry.