The leading term of a polynomial is the monomial with the highest degree. When written in standard form, the leading term is the first term from left to right.

The degree of the leading term is the degree of the polynomial and the coefficient of the leading term is called the leading coefficient. For example, consider the polynomial P(x)=2x^3 -8x + 3.

The degree of the polynomial is 3 and its leading coefficient is 2. The leading term also helps determine the total number of zeros, real and imaginary, of a polynomial and the end behavior of its graph.