claw back
Britishverb
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to get back (something) with difficulty
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to recover (a sum of money), esp by taxation or a penalty
noun
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the recovery of a sum of money, esp by taxation or a penalty
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the sum so recovered
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.
Palantir also got a shout-out from Trump on Friday, helping it to claw back some losses during a session in which investors fretted about Anthropic’s new AI model.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Most workers sit outside the scope of shunto altogether, said Stefan Angrick at Moody’s Analytics, while firms often claw back headline increases by trimming bonuses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is said to be weighing up all options to claw back as much time and money for the taxpayer as possible.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
“Earlier in 2026, fears around AI disrupting — or even obsoleting — software business models dominated the narrative,” he noted, with the chart above highlighting software stocks that have “managed to claw back losses.”
From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026
Objective studies have consistently shown that immigrants contribute more to their host economies - as consumers, investors and workers - than they ever claw back in social services and public goods.
From The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism by Vaknin, Samuel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
