Rare small vehicle by church (6)
I believe the answer is:
scarce
'rare' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'small vehicle by church' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'vehicle' becomes 'car' (car is a kind of vehicle).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'church' becomes 'CE' (abbreviation for Church of England).
's'+'car'+'ce'='SCARCE'
(Other definitions for scarce that I've seen before include "Not enough to meet demand" , "Wanting" , "Not plentiful, in short supply" , "Not often found" , "Insufficient to meet demand" .)