Ape that is holding article in hand (7)
I believe the answer is:
imitate
'ape' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'that is holding article in hand' is the wordplay.
'that is' becomes 'ie' (abbreviation for id est, 'that is' in Latin).
'holding' indicates putting letters inside.
'article' becomes 'a' (the indefinite article in English).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'hand' becomes 'mitt' (synonyms).
'a' going inside 'mitt' is 'mitat'.
'ie' placed around 'mitat' is 'IMITATE'.
(Other definitions for imitate that I've seen before include "Appear like, in behaviour or appearance" , "Mock" , "'Ape, copy (7)'" , "Reproduce" , "Copy or mimic" .)