Teapots damaged with hole in -- they could be chipped (8)
I believe the answer is:
potatoes
'they could be chipped' is the definition.
(chip can mean to make chips out of potatoes )
'teapots damaged with hole' is the wordplay.
'damaged with' is an anagram indicator.
'hole' becomes 'o'.
'teapots' with its letters anagrammed with 'o' makes 'POTATOES'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for potatoes that I've seen before include "Edible tubers, spuds" , "Root vegetables" , "Odd oat pesto for vegetables" , "Murphies" , "Vegetables in the strange oat pesto" .)