Hard like bears (3)
I believe the answer is:
has
'bears' is the definition.
(bear can mean to have or carry)
'hard like' is the wordplay.
'hard' becomes 'h' (abbreviation used in pencil classifications).
'like' becomes 'as'.
'h'+'as'='HAS'
(Other definitions for has that I've seen before include "Eats" , "suffers from" , "Owns, holds" , "Bears" , "Gives birth to" .)