grovel

1 to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission the way in which the abused dog would grovel whenever its owner came near Synonyms cringe, cower, quailRelated Words flinch, recoil, shrink, squinch; blanch, blench, whiten; fawn, kowtow, toady

2 to move slowly with the body close to the ground because of their anatomy, bats can only grovel while moving along the ground Synonyms belly, creep, crawl, slide, slither, snake, worm, wriggleRelated Words crouch, squat; edge, inch, nose; skulk, sneak, steal, tiptoe