grovel
verb (used without object)
to humble oneself or act in an abject manner, as in great fear or utter servility.
had been groveling
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past perfect progressiveof grovel.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For over a week, hundreds of competitors had been groveling in waist-high waves, scrapping to make the next round.
From Time Magazine Archive
