grovel
     v : show submission or fear [syn: {fawn}, {crawl}, {creep}, {cringe},
          {cower}]
     [also: {grovelling}, {grovelled}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0

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."


Source: The Jargon File