Badger home next to less restricted lands (7)
I believe the answer is:
settles
'lands' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to change as well as being verbs in their -s form.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'badger home next to less restricted' is the wordplay.
'badger home next' becomes 'sett' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'restricted' means to remove the last letter (restricted can mean limited or reduced).
'less' with its final letter taken away is 'les'.
'sett'+'les'='SETTLES'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for settles that I've seen before include "Comes to rest" , "Becomes established in a place" , "Resolves" , "Long wooden benches with backs" , "Pays the bill" .)