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 ~ 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 ~ ?3.5 billion in next year’s Budget.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P