The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word OUTPLAY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
O
U
T
P
L
A
Y
More clues leading to the result OUTPLAY
- Best theatre currently showing
- Defeat
- Defeat easily with expense about a penny
- Perform better, needing expenditure to cover parking
- Defeat, not in sport
- Do better than Portugal, squeezed by expenditure
- Best piano secured by payment
- Best spend a penny inside!
- Overcome pressure, cutting cost
- Better off with freedom of movement
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "defeat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case defeat = outplay.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 OUTPLAY mean?
OUTPLAY verb- To excel or defeat in a game; to play better than.