1.
If someone claws back some of the money or power they had lost, they get some of it back again. ( BRIT )
They will eventually be able to claw back all or most of the debt...
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron)
2.
If a government claws back money, it finds a way of taking money back from people that it gave money to in another way. ( BRIT )
The Chancellor will try to claw back £3.5 billion in next year’s Budget.
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron) , also V n P