Told son to get help (4)
I believe the answer is:
said
'told' is the definition.
('say' can be a synonym of 'tell')
'son to get help' is the wordplay.
'son' becomes 's'.
'to get' says to put letters next to each other.
'help' becomes 'aid' ('aid' can be a synonym of 'help').
's'+'aid'='SAID'
(Other definitions for said that I've seen before include "Remarked" , "Announced; Egypt. Port" , "Spoken" , "Port ____, important site in the Suez crisis" , "Mentioned" .)