clawback

1 of 2

noun

claw·​back ˈklȯ-ˌbak 

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

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

Criticism of the large bonuses awarded during federally funded bailouts spurred many banks to adopt clawback measures.

—Joann S. Lublin et al.

claw back

2 of 2

verb

clawed back; clawing back; claws back

transitive verb

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

Union 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

2

: 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

But unbeknownst to you, the drug actually cost only $7, and the pharmacy benefits manager claws back the extra $3.

—Sydney Lupkin

Examples of clawback in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For example, debt relief programs that negotiate settlements with creditors operate differently from bankruptcy and aren't subject to the same clawback rules. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026

The news hit its stock, prompted a revision of past profit figures, and triggered a clawback of executive bonuses. —Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Verb

Purdue clawed back into the game in the third quarter, starting the period on an 11-4 run to momentarily clip UCLA’s lead back under 20. —Benjamin Royer, Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026

Federal officials would say that there is precedent for the federal government to claw back funding when states violate laws or fail to provide the necessary data. —Baruch Feigenbaum, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1962, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1852, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for clawback

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback