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Enveloping, again, the figure (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

three

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'figure' is the definition.
(three is a number or figure)

'enveloping again the' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'again' could be 're' (prefix meaning 'again') and 're' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'he' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for three that I've seen before include "Start to count back, briefly" , "Number constituting a crowd?" , "Snooker score for potting green ball" , "... number of his "Steps to Heaven"" , "Bears or blind mice" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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