Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

clawback

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.77 in modern English

Syllables: claw-back
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A rule that permits a party to take back evidentiary materials that were mistakenly turned over to the other party but to which the other party would not have been entitled.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Money that a party is entitled to keep under one tax provision but is taken by another tax provision.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any recovery of a performance-related payment based on discovery that the performance was not genuine.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

A flatterer or sycophant.

Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The airline got a clawback provision in the event of failure of the engines to meet fuel-consumption targets."
"Take hede of theſe claubackes, theſe venemous people that wil come to you, that will folowe like Gnatoes and Paraſites, if you folowe them, you are oute of your boke."

Etymology

Deverbal from claw back. In the financial senses, refers to something being "clawed back", or reclaimed; in the sense of a flatterer, it suggests the idea of a person's back being scratched (see scratch someone's back).

Usage

Inflected Forms

clawbacks (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

disgorgement

Synonyms

malus

Questions

What does clawback mean?: A rule that permits a party to take back evidentiary materials that were mistakenly turned over to the other party but to which the other party would not have been entitled.
Where does clawback come from?: Deverbal from claw back. In the financial senses, refers to something being "clawed back", or reclaimed; in the sense of a flatterer, it suggests the idea of a person's back being scratched (see scratch someone's back).

How to pronounce clawback

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “clawback”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “clawback”.
Repeat and practice — Say “clawback” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.