It hardly covers resistance from crowd (5)
I believe the answer is:
thong
'it hardly covers' is the definition.
(underwear item)
'resistance from crowd' is the wordplay.
'resistance' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'from' suggests deleting specific letters.
'crowd' becomes 'throng' (thronging is a kind of crowding).
'throng' with 'r' removed is 'THONG'.
(Other definitions for thong that I've seen before include "Beachwear item" , "Strip of leather - minimalist beachwear" , "Leather strip fastener" , "Leather whiplash" , "(Very) brief knickers" .)