Vocabulary - Base and Exponent

In $x^n$, the base is $x$ and the exponent (or power) is $n$.

The base is the number you multiply. The exponent tells you how many copies of the base to multiply together. If $n = 3$, then $x^3 = x \times x \times x$.

You read $x^n$ as "x to the power of n" or "x to the n." These terms appear everywhere in math and CS, so get comfortable with them now.