grovel

English

From Middle English *grovelen, from Old Norse grufla, grœfla (“to grovel”), from Proto-Germanic *grubilōną (“to dig, delve into”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ‑ (“to dig, scrape, scrabble, scratch”); akin to Old Norse á grufu (“on one's belly”) ( > Old Norse grúfa (“to lie face down, grovel”)). Cognate with Scots grovel, gruvil (“to grovel”), German grübeln (“to meditate, ponder”), Norwegian Nynorsk gruvla (“to grovel”). Compare also West Frisian groebeltsje (“to make a mess, skip school, skive”), Dutch grobbelen (“to grope, root, grub”).

grovel (third-person singular simple present grovels, present participle (US) groveling or (UK) grovelling, simple past and past participle (US) groveled or (UK) grovelled)

(intransitive) To be prone on the ground.
(intransitive) To crawl.
- 1985, Shane MacGowan, “The Old Main Drag”, in Rum Sodomy & the Lash, performed by The Pogues:
  In the tube station, the old ones who were on the way out / Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
(intransitive) To abase oneself before another person.
She refused to grovel in front of the bully, standing her ground.
(intransitive) To be slavishly nice to someone or apologize in the hope of securing something.
He had to grovel before his boss after missing the important meeting.

He hated to grovel, but he knew it was the only way to save his job.
(intransitive) To take pleasure in mundane activities. (Can we add an example for this sense? )

to be prone on the ground

to crawl

to abase oneself

to be slavishly nice in the hope of securing something

to take pleasure in mundane things