clawback

[klaw-bak]

noun

1. the recovery of previously dispensed or protected money or benefits through a contractual provision or tax law, typically triggered to counter a shortfall in financial performance or offset a liability (often used attributively): Most public companies have clawback provisions, but boards choose not to invoke them.

   One executive’s clawback exceeded fifty million dollars.

   Most public companies have clawback provisions, but boards choose not to invoke them.

verb phrase

1. to require the return of (money or benefits).

   The government will claw back subsidy payments from households in the higher of the two income brackets.

2. to recover (a previously held asset or status) with substantial effort.

   The reigning champions were unable to claw back a playoff berth after their dismal regular season.

Word History and Origins

Origin of clawback¹

First recorded in 1950–55; clawback def. 1 derives from the verb phrase claw back (in the sense “to take back by great effort over a period of time”)

Example Sentences

CLA president Victoria Vyvyan said the "clawback" proposal would limit the damage to family businesses while targeting "those who have bought land to shelter wealth for short-term gain".

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In addition, Trump administration investigations could lead to further clawbacks in federal support.

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California and other states sued the Trump administration to block its clawback of federal funding to support academic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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While the White House justifies its clawback of $11.4 billion in public health funds by declaring the pandemic “over,” the truth — buried beneath rhetoric — is that this money was never solely about COVID.

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A "clawback mechanism" in the new arrangement is designed to stop the company making excessive profits if electricity prices rise steeply.

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