Meaning to climb up, right and left (7)
I believe the answer is:
purport
'meaning' is the definition.
(I know that purport is a type of meaning)
'climb up right and left' is the wordplay.
'climb' is a reversal indicator (I've seen 'climbing' mean this (in a down clue, letters climb up)).
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'left' becomes 'port' (left side of a ship - opposite of starboard).
'up' backwards is 'pu'.
'pu'+'r'+'port'='PURPORT'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for purport that I've seen before include "Pretend; meaning" , "Spirit" , "Seem or claim (to be)" , "Meaning, substance" , "Intended meaning" .)