From time to time, look to fate (3)
I believe the answer is:
lot
'fate' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'from time to time look to' is the wordplay.
'from time to time' means one should take alternating letters (letters removed on a regular basis).
'look'+'to'='lookto'
The alternating letters of 'lookto' are 'LOT'.
(Other definitions for lot that I've seen before include "large quantity" , "one whose wife was backward-looking?" , "Chance; item for sale" , "Nephew of Abraham - batch" , "Genesis character" .)