If there aren't any variables, the degree is zero.
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A polynomial of degree 2.
For example, if you divide a polynomial of degree 2 by a polynomial of degree 1, you'll get a result of degree 1. Similarly, you can divide a polynomial of degree 4 by one of degree 2, a polynomial of degree 6 by one of degree 3, etc.
Sort of... but not entirely. Assuming the polynomial's coefficients are real, the polynomial either has as many real roots as its degree, or an even number less. Thus, a polynomial of degree 4 can have 4, 2, or 0 real roots; while a polynomial of degree 5 has either 5, 3, or 1 real roots. So, polynomial of odd degree (with real coefficients) will always have at least one real root. For a polynomial of even degree, this is not guaranteed. (In case you are interested about the reason for the rule stated above: this is related to the fact that any complex roots in such a polynomial occur in conjugate pairs; for example: if 5 + 2i is a root, then 5 - 2i is also a root.)
The degree of a polynomial is the sum of all of the variable exponents. For example 6x^2 + 3x + 2 has a degree of 3 (2 + 1).