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]