Decorator dressing with hesitation (9)
I believe the answer is:
plasterer
'decorator' is the definition.
(I know that plasterer is a type of decorator)
'dressing with hesitation' is the wordplay.
'dressing' becomes 'plaster' (plaster is a type of medical dressing).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound made while hesitating - um, er).
'plaster'+'er'='PLASTERER'
(Other definitions for plasterer that I've seen before include "Coverer of walls, ceilings, etc" , "Artisan" , "One covering walls" , "Workman who skims along" , "Tradesman" .)