grovel

verb

groveled or grovelled; groveling or grovelling

intransitive verb

1
: to creep with the face to the ground : crawl
2
a
: to lie or creep with the body prostrate in token of subservience or abasement
groveled at the feet of the king
b
: to abase oneself
would not grovel for political advantage
3
: to give oneself over to what is base or unworthy : wallow
groveling in self-pity
groveler noun
grovelingly adverb

Examples of grovel in a Sentence

The peasants groveled before the king. He had to grovel to get her to accept his apology. He made a groveling apology to his girlfriend.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Park City–Salt Lake City remains the funniest option, after months of groveling from other cities. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2024 After the fallout of episode 7, plenty of dudes should be grovelling for forgiveness right now. Alexandra Koster, refinery29.com, 7 Feb. 2024 Like many — including the groveling Rubio, Scott and Stefanik — Johnson was once a Trump critic. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2024 At which point, according to her friends, Brenner would grovel and beg her to keep him. Lisa Depaulo, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grovel 

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from groveling prone, from groveling, adverb, from Middle English, from gruf, adverb, on the face (from Old Norse ā grūfu) + -ling

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grovel was in 1552

Dictionary Entries Near grovel

Cite this Entry

“Grovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grovel. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

grovel

verb
groveled or grovelled; groveling or grovelling
-(ə-)liŋ
1
: to creep or lie face down on the ground (as in fear)
2
: to degrade oneself by behaving in an excessively submissive way : cringe
groveler noun
or groveller
-(ə-)lər

More from Merriam-Webster on grovel

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