High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In mathematics, a quadratic polynomial or quadratic is a polynomial of degree two, also called second-order polynomial. That means the exponents of the polynomial's variables are no larger than 2. For example, x2 4x + 7 is a quadratic polynomial, while x3 4x + 7 is not.The coefficients of a polynomial are often taken to be real or complex numbers, but in fact, a polynomial may be defined over any ring.When using the term "quadratic polynomial", authors sometimes mean "having degree exactly 2", and sometimes "having degree at most 2". If the degree is less than 2, this may be called a "degenerate case". Usually the context will establish which of the two is meant.