Cryptic crossword clue
Finish with place in contest, not exactly what is looked for  Now edited to remove error 10

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word COMPLETION

C
O
M
P
L
E
T
I
O
N

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Finish" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case finish = completion.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does COMPLETION mean?

COMPLETION noun
  1. The act or state of being or making something complete; conclusion, accomplishment.
  2. The conclusion of an act of conveyancing concerning the sale of a property.
  3. A forward pass that is successfully caught by the intended receiver.
  4. The act of making a metric space complete by adding points.
  5. The space resulting from such an act.

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