How do you find the degree of a polynomial

Lets look at x^2+8x-3

the degree of the polynomial is the highest power of the exponent of the placeholders

x^2, power=2

8x, power=1

-3, power=0 (-3x^0=-3)

so if you had

x^89+x^8-8x-2^100

degree is 89 since that is highest power of the placeholders