ovule
noun
ˈä-(ˌ)vyül 
ˈō-
ˈō- 1
: an outgrowth of the ovary of a seed plant that is a megasporangium and encloses an embryo sac within a nucellus
2
: a small egg
especially : one in an early stage of growth
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Once pollen is transported to the ovary, an ovule is fertilized. 
Dezimey Kum, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2022 Unless all the ovules are pollinated evenly, berries are misshapen and seeds are different sizes. Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, 27 June 2019 This means that a flower has as many as 500 ovules that need to be pollinated to make a single berry. Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, 27 June 2019 Scientists diagnose a mysterious blockage in the flowers that keeps the sperm cells in the pollen from reaching the ovule. Richard Conniff, WSJ, 13 Apr. 2018 Fig wasps deposit pollen—and lay their own eggs—in the fig’s egg-bearing ovules. National Geographic, 29 Sep. 2016
Dezimey Kum, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2022 Unless all the ovules are pollinated evenly, berries are misshapen and seeds are different sizes. Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, 27 June 2019 This means that a flower has as many as 500 ovules that need to be pollinated to make a single berry. Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, 27 June 2019 Scientists diagnose a mysterious blockage in the flowers that keeps the sperm cells in the pollen from reaching the ovule. Richard Conniff, WSJ, 13 Apr. 2018 Fig wasps deposit pollen—and lay their own eggs—in the fig’s egg-bearing ovules. National Geographic, 29 Sep. 2016 Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Medieval Latin ōvulum, diminutive of Latin ovum "egg" — more at egg entry 1
First Known Use
1762, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Kids Definition
ovule
noun
ˈäv-yül
ˈōv-
: a tiny structure in the ovary of a flower and on the scale of a cone that contains an egg cell and can develop into a seed following fertilization
Medical Definition
ovule
noun
ˈäv-(ˌ)yü(ə)l also ˈōv-
1
: an outgrowth of the ovary of a seed plant that after fertilization develops into a seed
2
: a small egg
especially : one in an early stage of growth