claw back

get back money or an advantage that was lost, usually with difficulty

C2

What does "claw sth back" mean?

To claw back something means to recover money, an advantage, or a position that was previously lost or given away — but crucially, the recovery involves real difficulty, effort, or resistance. The image behind the phrase is of clawing with effort to retrieve something, which gives it a stronger sense of struggle than simply 'getting back' or 'winning back'. It is most at home in formal contexts: financial journalism, legal and regulatory writing, political commentary, and sports reporting. You might read about a government trying to claw back unpaid taxes, a regulator clawing back bonuses from executives, or a sports team clawing back a deficit in the final minutes. Because of its formal tone and connotation of institutional mechanism or hard-fought recovery, it would sound out of place in everyday conversation.

Examples

How to use it

subject + claw back + object

The standard transitive pattern — always requires an object representing what is being recovered.

The regulator is trying to claw back millions in bonuses paid to senior executives.

subject + claw + object + back

Used when the object is a short noun phrase; separating the verb from the particle is natural and common.

The firm managed to claw the funds back after a lengthy legal dispute.

subject + claw + pronoun + back

Pronouns must always be placed between the verb and the particle, never after 'back'.

The government had awarded the subsidies, but it clawed them back when the conditions were not met.

object + be clawed back

The passive is very natural and frequently appears in formal, financial, and regulatory writing, especially when the institutional agent is less important than what is recovered.

The bonuses could be clawed back if the bank fails to meet its performance targets.

subject + claw back + object + from + source

A 'from' phrase can be added to specify who or where the recovery is being made from.

The tax authority is attempting to claw back unpaid duties from offshore accounts.

Common Collocations

claw back lossesclaw back bonusesclaw back market shareclaw back groundclaw back taxclaw back funds

Common Mistakes

Using it in casual contexts

'Claw back' sounds formal and institutional; using it in everyday speech to describe getting something back in a personal or domestic context sounds unnatural. Use 'get back' or 'win back' in casual situations.

✗ I lent him my charger last week and I'm trying to claw it back.
✓ I lent him my charger last week and I'm trying to get it back.
Pronoun placed after the particle

When the object is a pronoun, it must come between 'claw' and 'back', not after 'back'.

✗ The company clawed back it after the audit.
✓ The company clawed it back after the audit.
Confusing with 'win back'

'Win back' is a neutral, general expression for regaining something and works across registers; 'claw back' specifically implies difficulty or a formal mechanism of recovery, and belongs in financial, legal, or political contexts. Substituting one for the other can change the tone significantly.

✗ She worked hard to claw back the trust of her friends after the argument.
✓ She worked hard to win back the trust of her friends after the argument.

Usage

This phrasal verb is mainly used in formal British English contexts such as finance, politics, and law. The one-word noun 'clawback' (e.g. a clawback clause) is also very common and worth learning alongside the verb.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'claw back' mainly British English?

It is most strongly associated with British English, particularly in financial, legal, and political journalism. That said, it does appear in American and international financial writing, especially in regulatory contexts. The noun form 'clawback' is widely used across all varieties of English in finance and law.

What is the noun form of 'claw back', and is it written differently?

The noun form is written as one word: 'clawback'. It is extremely common in finance and law, often as a modifier in phrases like 'clawback clause', 'clawback provision', or 'clawback mechanism'. It's well worth learning alongside the verb, as you will encounter it frequently in formal texts.

What kinds of things can be 'clawed back'?

The most typical objects are financial or competitive in nature: bonuses, losses, market share, tax, funds, profits, ground, a lead, or a deficit. More abstractly, it can also collocate with things like control, authority, sovereignty, or support — anything where the recovery is hard-fought and the context is formal or institutional.

Can 'claw back' describe a sports situation?

Yes — sports commentary is one of the few less strictly formal contexts where 'claw back' appears naturally. It typically describes a team narrowing a points gap or overcoming a deficit, for example: 'They clawed back a three-goal lead in the second half.' The sense of effort and difficulty still drives its use here.

Does 'claw back' always imply that someone else had the money or advantage first?

Not always, but very often. The connotation is that something was awarded, lost, or taken away and is now being recovered — frequently from another party or from circumstances. This is what distinguishes it from a neutral word like 'recover': 'claw back' implies there is something to overcome, whether that is resistance, difficulty, or a formal legal or regulatory process.

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