The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HARDWARE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
H
A
R
D
W
A
R
E
More clues leading to the result HARDWARE
- Hospital has a specially designed drawer for equipment
- Hospital road taken in conscious gear
- Five hundred struggle in rush for equipment
- Tools etc, on being cut down in African capital
- Explosive heard burying fighting tanks, missiles etc
- Part of computer difficult to wear out
- Difficult conflict ending with unreliable equipment
- Computers, for example, are added to hospital ward after reconstruction
- Battle equipment used by Richard, war enthusiast
- Tough women are producing military artillery
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Part of computer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case part of computer = hardware.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 HARDWARE mean?
HARDWARE noun- Fixtures, equipment, tools and devices used for general-purpose construction and repair of a structure or object. Also such equipment as sold as stock by a store of the same name, e.g. hardware store.
- Equipment.
- The part of a computer that is fixed and cannot be altered without replacement or physical modification; motherboard, expansion cards, etc. Compare software.
- Electronic equipment.
- Metal implements.
- A firearm.