plural clawbacks
: the act or an instance of getting back money or benefits previously given out: such as
a
: the recovery of tax allowances by additional taxation
Next year sees the resumption of a 3% clawback that penalizes most upper-bracket taxpayers.—
William Baldwin
William Baldwin
b
: the reclaiming of money or benefits under special circumstances stipulated in a contract
—usually used before another noun
He suggested a clawback provision that would allow companies to demand the return of compensation tied to performance if it turned out that a company's stock performance was inflated by bad business practices or malfeasance.—Loren Steffy
Loren SteffyCriticism of the large bonuses awarded during federally funded bailouts spurred many banks to adopt clawback measures.—Joann S. Lublin et al.
Joann S. Lublin et al.
clawed back; clawing back; claws back
1
: to get back (something) usually by strenuous effort or forceful means : regain
… the street is becoming a high-profile example of how Iraqi National Guard troops … can claw back territory from insurgents.—Scott Peterson
Scott PetersonUnion activists have been knocking on members' doors, standing at the gates of steel mills and generally trying to claw back votes from 2016 …—Trip Gabriel
Trip Gabriel2
: to recover (money or benefits) especially by putting into effect additional taxation or clawback provisions
If finance ministers do approve exceptional increases for farm spending, the extra will have to be clawed back in the next two years.—The Economist
The EconomistBut unbeknownst to you, the drug actually cost only $7, and the pharmacy benefits manager claws back the extra $3.—Sydney Lupkin
Sydney LupkinExamples of clawback in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebRob Berger, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
O'Malley said the agency terminates disability benefits for some people who don't contact the SSA after receiving a clawback letter.
—Fred Clasen-Kelly, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024
The company must create a minimum 420 jobs by February 2031 to keep the full incentives, or face clawbacks.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Jan. 2024
The governor is proposing several clawbacks of unspent funds to solve a budget deficit his office projects will reach $38 billion in 2024-25.
—Calmatters, Orange County Register, 18 Jan. 2024
The clawbacks have ballooned from about $9 million in 2010 to $12.6 billion in 2021, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an agency created to advise Congress on the program for people who are 65 and older or have disabilities.
—Arthur Allen, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
Fines and clawbacks of city funding were among the options floated.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2024
Trending News Toyota recalls 1 million Toyota, Lexus vehicles over faulty air bag sensor
Social Security clawbacks drive some Americans into homelessness
Xfinity hack affects nearly 36 million customers.
—Alain Sherter, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2023
But the clawbacks have resulted in patients overpaying by hundreds of millions of dollars, Hoey said.
—Arthur Allen, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 3 Apr. 2024
No creditors have been reimbursed, in part because Ray is still trying to find all FTX’s assets and clawing back money that was paid out to Bankman-Fried’s associates, including his parents.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Thompson hit a pair of 3s, Gary Payton II tipped in a miss and Trayce Jackson-Davis rolled to the rim for a jam to claw back within three.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
There, Sacramento went on 18-0 and 15-0 runs, respectively, clawing back into it after falling behind by as many as 19.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 23 Mar. 2024
Works-made-for-hire are exempt from being clawed back under the U.S.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Feb. 2024
Mission Hills Bishop Alemany 68, University City 55: Alemany got out to a 21-10 lead, University clawed back to make it 46-41, but was outscored 22-14 in the fourth quarter.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2024
Earlier this year, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reached a $1.59 trillion spending agreement, which included an additional $10 billion in cuts to the IRS mandatory funding for a total of $20 billion (all of which would be clawed back in 2024).
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024
Wednesday was not nearly as much fun, and the Hurricanes couldn’t scrap it out after falling behind early, then clawing back, only to ultimately come short.
—Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
Second, the support representative told me that market declines by themselves will not trigger a clawback.
—Rob Berger, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
O'Malley said the agency terminates disability benefits for some people who don't contact the SSA after receiving a clawback letter.
—Fred Clasen-Kelly, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024
The company must create a minimum 420 jobs by February 2031 to keep the full incentives, or face clawbacks.
—Detroit Free Press, 23 Jan. 2024
The governor is proposing several clawbacks of unspent funds to solve a budget deficit his office projects will reach $38 billion in 2024-25.
—Calmatters, Orange County Register, 18 Jan. 2024
The clawbacks have ballooned from about $9 million in 2010 to $12.6 billion in 2021, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an agency created to advise Congress on the program for people who are 65 and older or have disabilities.
—Arthur Allen, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
Fines and clawbacks of city funding were among the options floated.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2024
Trending News Toyota recalls 1 million Toyota, Lexus vehicles over faulty air bag sensor
Social Security clawbacks drive some Americans into homelessness
Xfinity hack affects nearly 36 million customers.
—Alain Sherter, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2023
But the clawbacks have resulted in patients overpaying by hundreds of millions of dollars, Hoey said.
—Arthur Allen, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
Verb
Peoria is looking to claw back nearly $139,000 in severance money from its previous city attorney as part of a lawsuit against her and former Mayor Cathy Carlat.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 3 Apr. 2024
No creditors have been reimbursed, in part because Ray is still trying to find all FTX’s assets and clawing back money that was paid out to Bankman-Fried’s associates, including his parents.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Thompson hit a pair of 3s, Gary Payton II tipped in a miss and Trayce Jackson-Davis rolled to the rim for a jam to claw back within three.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
There, Sacramento went on 18-0 and 15-0 runs, respectively, clawing back into it after falling behind by as many as 19.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 23 Mar. 2024
Works-made-for-hire are exempt from being clawed back under the U.S.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Feb. 2024
Mission Hills Bishop Alemany 68, University City 55: Alemany got out to a 21-10 lead, University clawed back to make it 46-41, but was outscored 22-14 in the fourth quarter.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2024
Earlier this year, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reached a $1.59 trillion spending agreement, which included an additional $10 billion in cuts to the IRS mandatory funding for a total of $20 billion (all of which would be clawed back in 2024).
—Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024
Wednesday was not nearly as much fun, and the Hurricanes couldn’t scrap it out after falling behind early, then clawing back, only to ultimately come short.
—Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clawback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clawback
Cite this Entry
“Clawback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clawback. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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