The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word AMBIT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
M
B
I
T
More clues leading to the result AMBIT
- Head off opening compass
- Confines doctor in island
- Scope of non-grammatical complaint after dog attack?
- Confines or rather restricts maiden
- Manoeuvre fails to start in range
- Scope of a doctor with Italian
- Strategic move leaving government scope
- Reach maiden in topless dress
- A doctor needs it, in a certain extent
- To some extent covers central Germany in scope
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "scope" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case scope = ambit.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 AMBIT mean?
AMBIT noun- The sphere or area of control and influence of something.
- A circuit, or a boundary around a property.
- The extent of actions, thoughts, or the meaning of words, etc.