The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Grovel \Grov"el\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Groveledor Grovelled;
   p. pr. & vb. n. Groveling or Grovelling.] [From OE.
   grovelinge, grufelinge, adv., on the face, prone, which was
   misunderstood as a p. pr.; cf. OE. gruf, groff, in the same
   sense; of Scand. origin, cf. Icel. gr[=u]fa, in [=a] gr[=u]fu
   on the face, prone, gr[=u]fa to grovel.]
   1. To creep on the earth, or with the face to the ground; to
      lie prone, or move uneasily with the body prostrate on the
      earth; to lie flat on one's belly, expressive of
      abjectness; to crawl.
      [1913 Webster]

            To creep and grovel on the ground.    --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To tend toward, or delight in, what is sensual or base; to
      be low, abject, or mean.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

grovel
    v 1: show submission or fear [syn: fawn, crawl, creep,
         cringe, cower, grovel]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

94 Moby Thesaurus words for "grovel":
   apple-polish, be promiscuous, bend, bend the knee, bend the neck,
   bend to, bootlick, bow, bow and scrape, bow down, bow to,
   chase women, commit adultery, couch, cower, crawl, creep, cringe,
   cringe to, crouch, crouch before, curtsy, debauch, dissipate,
   do homage, do obeisance, fawn, flatter, flounder, fornicate,
   genuflect, get down, go on tiptoe, gumshoe, hug the earth, hunch,
   hunch down, inch, inch along, kneel, kneel to, knuckle to, kowtow,
   lay, lick the dust, lickspittle, lie, lie down, lie flat,
   lie limply, lie low, lie prone, lie prostrate, lie under, loll,
   lounge, nightwalk, pad, philander, prowl, pussyfoot, rake, recline,
   repose, roll, scrabble, scramble, scrouch down, sidle,
   sleep around, slink, snake, sneak, sprawl, squat, steal,
   steal along, stoop, swing, tippytoe, tiptoe, toadeat, toady,
   truckle, truckle to, tumble, underlie, wallow, wanton, welter,
   whore, womanize, worm, worm along



The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

grovel
 vi.

    1. To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often used
    transitively with ?over? or ?through?. ?The file scavenger has been
    groveling through the /usr directories for 10 minutes now.? Compare grind
    and crunch. Emphatic form: grovel obscenely.

    2. To examine minutely or in complete detail. ?The compiler grovels over
    the entire source program before beginning to translate it.? ?I grovelled
    through all the documentation, but I still couldn't find the command I
    wanted.?


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

grovel

   1. To work interminably and without apparent progress.  Often
   used transitively with "over" or "through".  "The file
   scavenger has been groveling through the /usr directories for
   10 minutes now."  Compare grind and crunch.  Emphatic
   form: "grovel obscenely".

   2. To examine minutely or in complete detail.  "The compiler
   grovels over the entire source program before beginning to
   translate it."  "I grovelled through all the documentation,
   but I still couldn't find the command I wanted."

   [Jargon File]