Rough vehicles heading east, circling Ohio (6)
I believe the answer is:
coarse
'rough' is the definition.
(associated in meaning)
'vehicles heading east circling ohio' is the wordplay.
'vehicles' becomes 'cars' (car is a kind of vehicle).
'heading east' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'circling' means one lot of letters goes inside another (circling can mean going around or containing).
'ohio' becomes 'O' (abbreviation for Ohio).
'cars'+'e'='carse'
'carse' enclosing 'o' is 'COARSE'.
(Other definitions for coarse that I've seen before include "Rought or crude" , "Rough-hewn" , "Rough to the touch or lacking refinement" , "Rough, harsh" , "Rough or crude, lacking refinement" .)