1000 in America — or less (5)
I believe the answer is:
minus
'less' is the definition.
(both can mean take away)
'1000 in america' is the wordplay.
'1000' becomes 'M' (Roman numeral).
'america' becomes 'US' (United States).
'm'+'in'+'us'='MINUS'
'or' is the link.
(Other definitions for minus that I've seen before include "Lacking; negative" , "Reduced by the subtraction of - thus?" , "Deprived of" , "Take-away (sign)" , "Lacking; below zero" .)