From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishclaw something ↔ back phrasal verb1 GETto get back something that you had lost, by trying very hard The company has managed to claw back its share of the market.2 British EnglishPET if a government or organization claws back money it has given to people, it takes it back → claw→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
claw back• One quality Oxford possessed in abundance, though, was spirit, which enabled them to claw their way back.• But shares clawed their way back and by the close the fall had been cut to 10.2 points at 2,289.2.• Crowther clawed his way back and clinched the fifth.• Her fingers clawed his back, her mouth covered his, her tongue darted down his throat.• Topaz clawed Andrew's back, silently begging him to satisfy the ravenous craving within her which was reaching unbearable proportions.• He will probe unceasingly for loopholes by which to claw his way back to his prewar stature.From Longman Business Dictionaryclaw back phrasal verb British English1[transitive] claw something → backFINANCE if a company claws back shares, it takes back new shares that it had offered to its present shareholders, but they do not want to buy, and offers them to other investorsShares worth £800 million have been set aside for new investors, rising to £1.2 billion if extra shares are clawed back from the members’ offer.2[transitive] claw something → back if an authority claws back money from someone, it gets back money previously received by that personIf partners’ earnings for the two years before the collapse of the partnership were judged excessive, then they could be clawed back to help pay debts.3[intransitive, transitive] claw something → backFINANCE if a financial market or something traded on one claws back to a previous level, its value slowly goes back up to that level after a fallTelecom shares have now clawed back 40 cents from their low of NZ$7.70 hit last Tuesday.Wall Street clawed back early losses to end the morning comfortably higher. → claw→ See Verb table 