Wiktionary
vb. (context transitive English) To recover or retake, with great effort, something that was lost.
Usage examples of "claw back".
In the dark I bent, and putting the Claw back into the top of my boot, took up my sword.
Having missed with the first swipe, Khisanth swept her claw back again.
Hackles rising, Kalam freed his crossbow from its binding on the saddle, cranked the claw back until it locked, then slid a quarrel into the slot.
Amberdrake put the claw back in Leyuet's hand, wrapped again in the insulating silk.
As Chuck watched, the envoy stirred, pulled his claw back into normal position, and got shakily up on all four legs.
The mriswith pulled its claw back, and the shield became invisible again.
Grimacing, he slid Cat's-Claw back into the scimitar's sheath, reluctantly realizing that he now needed both hands for climbing.
The other crab stuck its claw back in the window, the left one this time.