American woman's guide (5)
I believe the answer is:
usher
'guide' is the definition.
(an usher guides people)
'american woman's' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'US' (United States).
'woman' becomes 'her' (her refers to a woman).
'us'+'her'='USHER'
(Other definitions for usher that I've seen before include "One escorts people to seats" , "pilot" , "Guide at wedding" , "Introduce" , "Person whose job is to conduct others" .)