claw

 
Pronunciation: /klɔː/

noun

  • a curved pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot in birds, lizards, and some mammals.
  • either of a pair of small hooked appendages on an insect’s foot.
  • the pincer of a crab, scorpion, or other arthropod.
  • a mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting.

verb

  • 1 [no object] scratch or tear something with the claws or the fingernails: the kitten was clawing at Lowell’s trouser leg [with object]: her hands clawed his shoulders
  • clutch at something with the hands: his fingers clawed at the air
  • (claw one's way) make one’s way with difficulty by hauling oneself forward with one’s hands: he clawed his way over a pile of bricks figurative she was determined to claw her way out of poverty and find fame
  • [with object] (claw something away) try desperately to move or remove something with the hands: rescuers clawed away rubble with their bare hands
  • [with object] Scottish scratch (a part of one’s body) gently so as to relieve itching.
  • 2 [no object] Nautical (of a sailing ship) beat to windward: the ability to claw off a lee shore

Phrases

get one's claws into

informal enter into a possessive relationship with: she’s already got her claws into the handyman

Phrasal Verbs

claw something back

  • 1British regain a lost advantage or position laboriously and gradually: a hostile majority were committed to clawing back power from the president
  • 2(of a government) recover money paid out in the form of an allowance or benefit, typically by taxation: the government is trying to claw back the pay rises extracted by workers since deregulation of food prices

Derivatives

clawed

adjective
[often in combination]: a short-clawed otter

clawless

adjective

Origin:

Old English clawu (noun), clawian (verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch klauw and German Klaue