Academic took in offer (6)
I believe the answer is:
donate
'offer' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'academic took' is the wordplay.
'academic' becomes 'don' (type of academic - especially at Oxbridge).
'took' becomes 'ate' (eating is a kind of taking).
'don'+'ate'='DONATE'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for donate that I've seen before include "Give as a gift as to charity" , "Contribute charitably" , "Give - present" , "Fork out" , "Make an offer" .)