grovel
English
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grovel
- /ˈɡrɒvəl/
- /ˈɡrʌvəl/
Rhymes with -ɒvəl, -ʌvəl
Where it comes from
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”).
verb grovels · groveling · grovelling · groveled · grovelled
- To be prone on the ground.
- To crawl. In the tube station, the old ones who were on the way out / Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
- To abase oneself before another person. She refused to grovel in front of the bully, standing her ground.
- 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.
- To take pleasure in mundane activities.
Translations
Every language
verb to be prone on the ground
| Español | prostrarse, postrarse |
|---|---|
| Italiano | giacere bocconi, giacere prono |
| Русский | лежа́ть ниц ležátʹ nic |
verb to crawl
| Français | ramper |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | kriechen |
| Italiano | strisciare |
| Русский | по́лзать pólzatʹ |
verb to abase oneself
| Español | humillarse |
|---|---|
| Français | s'abaisser, s'aplatir |
| Deutsch | kriechen, katzbuckeln, auf dem Bauch rutschen |
| Italiano | abbassarsi, umiliarsi |
| Русский | унижа́ться unižátʹsja, пресмыка́ться presmykátʹsja |
verb to be slavishly nice in the hope of securing something
| Español | arrastrarse, humillarse |
|---|---|
| Français | larbiner |
| Deutsch | kriechen, schleimen |
| Italiano | ingraziarsi |
| Русский | пресмыка́ться presmykátʹsja |
| עברית | התרפס hitrapés |
verb to take pleasure in mundane things
| Italiano | grufolarsi |
|---|
Talk about this word "grovel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grovel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. grovel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grovel "grovel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grovel.Cite this
@misc{grovel_2026,
title = {grovel},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grovel},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
