The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word PERVADE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
P
E
R
V
A
D
E
More clues leading to the result PERVADE
- Rising salesman Dave struggling to spread effectively
- Spread through most of country reaching Delaware after Virginia
- Abroad, dad gets voluntary nurses in to transfuse
- Lively revamped bar 1000 spread throughout
- Penetrate through repaved ground
- Run through auditor’s assistance for sexual deviant
- Go through repaved ground
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "to spread effectively" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case to spread effectively = pervade.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 PERVADE mean?
PERVADE verb- To be in every part of; to spread through.