Military supplies held back by commander (4)
I believe the answer is:
ammo
'military' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.
'held back by commander' is the wordplay.
'back by' says the letters should be written backwards.
'held' indicates a hidden word.
'omma' can be found hidden inside 'commander'.
'omma' backwards is 'AMMO'.
'supplies' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ammo that I've seen before include "Bullets, shells (colloq.)" , "that goes in magazine: ...?" , "explosives, perhaps" , "Bullets etc.(informal)" , "Bullets, shells, rockets etc" .)