Hide being almost on the breadline (4)
I believe the answer is:
skin
'hide' is the definition.
('skin' can be a synonym of 'hide')
'almost on the breadline' is the wordplay.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'on the breadline' becomes 'skint'.
'skint' with its final letter removed is 'SKIN'.
'being' is the link.
(Other definitions for skin that I've seen before include "Surface layer" , "Outer surface" , "Personal cover?" , "Outer layer of a fruit or vegetable" , "Pelt" .)