Exponent

Exponent[p, var] returns the degree of p with respect to the variable var.

Attributes[Exponent] := {Listable, Protected}

Simple examples

Find the degree of a polynomial:

In[1]:= Exponent[3 + x^3 + k*x^5, x]
Out[1]= 5

Further examples

Find the degree of a polynomial:

In[1]:= Exponent[3 + x^3 + k*x^5, x, List]
Out[1]= {0, 3, 5}