Cheat soldier after trial of participant in competition (10)
I believe the answer is:
contestant
'participant in competition' is the definition.
'contestant' can be an answer for 'participant' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'in competition' bit.
'cheat soldier after trial' is the wordplay.
'cheat' becomes 'con' (conning is a kind of cheating).
'soldier' becomes 'ant' (soldier is a type of ant).
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'trial' becomes 'test' (synonyms).
'ant' put after 'test' is 'testant'.
'con'+'testant'='CONTESTANT'
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for contestant that I've seen before include "One of those competing" , "Competitor" , "Candidate" , "One in quiz" , "One entering a competition" .)