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claw sth back

phrasal verb with claw
 
/klɔː/
 
US  /klɑː/ verb [I or T]

Definition

to get possession of something again with difficulty: The airline is beginning to claw back some of the business it lost after the bomb explosion.Giving, bringing or getting back mainly UK If the government, for example, claws back money, it takes money back in one way that it has already given in another way: We got a government grant for setting up our business, but they clawed it all back again in taxes.Giving, bringing or getting back
(Definition of claw sth back from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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