The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word PROFESS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
P
R
O
F
E
S
S
More clues leading to the result PROFESS
- Newspapers got round belonging to state
- Claim about stopping journalists
- Strongly declare media should hold on
- Declare intention of entering journalism
- Claim made by little old female in crowd
- Head of department drops alternative claim
- Head of faculty ignores alternative claim
- What university doctors do declare!
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "claim" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case claim = profess.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 PROFESS mean?
PROFESS verb- To administer the vows of a religious order to (someone); to admit to a religious order. (Chiefly in passive.)
- To declare oneself (to be something).
- To declare; to assert, affirm.
- To make a claim (to be something); to lay claim to (a given quality, feeling etc.), often with connotations of insincerity.
- To declare one's adherence to (a religion, deity, principle etc.).
- To work as a professor of; to teach.
- To claim to have knowledge or understanding of (a given area of interest, subject matter).