Put sole initially in footwear for lift (5)
I believe the answer is:
boost
'for lift' is the definition.
(boosting is a kind of lifting)
'put sole initially in footwear' is the wordplay.
'put sole initially' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'footwear' becomes 'boot' (boot is a kind of footwear).
's' put within 'boot' is 'BOOST'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for boost that I've seen before include "Promote" , "Uplift" , "Help to increase" , "Push up (eg morale, chances)" , "Improve - pick-me-up" .)