Soldier perhaps eating fruit for nourishment (7)
I believe the answer is:
aliment
'nourishment' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'soldier perhaps eating fruit' is the wordplay.
'soldier perhaps' becomes 'ant' (soldier is a type of ant).
'eating' is an insertion indicator.
'fruit' becomes 'lime' (lime is a kind of fruit).
'ant' enclosing 'lime' is 'ALIMENT'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for aliment that I've seen before include "Sustenance" , "Nourishment" , "Something which nourishes - meal tin (anag)" , "Old word for food" .)