In elementary mathematics, a term is either a single number or variable, or the product of several numbers and/or variables. For example, in
- 3 + 4x + 5yzw
3, 4x, and 5yzw are all terms. This definition does not cover all usages in more advanced mathematics. Often term is used of a monomial with a coefficient: to 'collect like terms' in a polynomial is the basic operation of making it a linear combination of distinct monomials.
See also
