# claw back

CEFR C1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/claw-back
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

to get back something that you lost or gave away, often with a lot of effort.

For teachers: to recover something (typically money, power, or an advantage) with difficulty or through forceful action; often used in financial or political contexts regarding the retrieval of disbursed funds.

## Examples

- The company is trying to claw back the bonuses.
- After the accounting error was discovered, the government moved to claw back the overpaid benefits from thousands of citizens.
- The opposition party struggled to claw back its lead in the polls after a series of high-profile scandals damaged its public reputation.

## Pitfalls

- Not "They clawed the money back." but "They clawed back the money." — while technically separable, it is almost always used in the inseparable form when the object is a noun phrase.

## Usage notes

- frequently used in business and politics with objects like 'money', 'taxes', 'costs', or 'power'.
- Teaching tip: the verb 'claw' suggests a sharp, physical struggle; use this image to help students understand why it is used for difficult or aggressive recovery of assets.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.