Almost hold on to fine stray (4)
I believe the answer is:
waif
'stray' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'almost hold on to fine' is the wordplay.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (almost the whole word is kept).
'hold on' becomes 'wait' (I've seen this in another clue).
'to fine' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'wait' with its final letter removed is 'wai'.
'wai'+'f'='WAIF'
(Other definitions for waif that I've seen before include "Homeless child - thin person" , "Neglected, homeless child" , "neglected issue" , "Orphan" , "Ragamuffin" .)