Dined, we hear, with the crew (5)
I believe the answer is:
eight
'crew' is the definition.
(an eight-person rowing team)
'dined we hear' is the wordplay.
'dined' becomes 'ate'.
'we hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'ate' sounds like 'EIGHT'.
'with the' is the link.
(Other definitions for eight that I've seen before include "A number, sounds like swallowed" , "Number (of oarsmen?)" , "4x2" , "destroyed [IN 8A] here!" , "Have one over the . . . . . to be slightly drunk" .)