Attorney takes hit to play (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'to play' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'attorney takes hit' is the wordplay.
'attorney' becomes 'D.A.' (District Attorney).
'takes' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'hit' becomes 'ram' (ram can mean to hit something).
'da' placed around 'ram' is 'DRAMA'.
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "Acting" , "theatre production" , "Theatre or radio play" , "show of histrionics" , "Theatrical piece" .)