The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word HEARTEN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
H
E
A
R
T
E
N
More clues leading to the result HEARTEN
- Scramble near the lift
- Buoy made of clay's hard on top
- Encourage to listen at news time?
- Encourage woman to go round the world without husband
- Catch two short of a dozen, and cheer
- Pick up catch: that’s raised cheer
- . Cheer side short of team member after try
- Cheer try before catch is reviewed
- Try, after tax rises, to cheer
- Lift near the ground
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "cheer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cheer = hearten.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 HEARTEN mean?
HEARTEN verb- To give heart to; to encourage, urge on, cheer, give confidence to.