Expert put to death by direction (7)
I believe the answer is:
skilled
'expert' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'put to death by direction' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'direction' could be 's' (S is an example) and 's' is present in the answer.
'put to death' could be 'kill' (I've seen this before) and 'kill' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'ed' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for skilled that I've seen before include "Showing expertise" , "Adept, clever" , "Showing great aptitude" , "Proficient" , "Talented" .)