Answer:
In particular, for an expression to be a polynomial term, it must contain no square roots of variables, no fractional or negative powers on the variables, and no variables in the denominators of any fractions.
So I'd say a polynomial is a finite sum of terms in which all variables have whole number exponents and no variable appears in a denominator. The leading term in a polynomial is the term of highest degree. The constant term in a polynomial is the term without a variable.
