The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word EQUALISE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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Buddy explains!

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 EQUALISE mean?
EQUALISE verb- To make equal; to cause to correspond in amount or degree.
- To be equal to; to equal, to rival.
- To make the scoreline equal by scoring points.
- (underwater diving) To clear the ears to balance the pressure in the middle ear with the outside pressure by letting air enter along the Eustachian tubes.
- Said of a morphism: to pre-compose with each of a parallel pair of morphisms so as to yield the same composite morphism.