When going round the abyss, keeps well away from it (6)
I believe the answer is:
avoids
'well away from it' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'when going round the abyss' is the wordplay.
'when' becomes 'as' (eg 'when I walked' means 'as I walked').
'going round' indicates putting letters inside (some letters go around others).
'the abyss' becomes 'void' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'as' going around 'void' is 'AVOIDS'.
'keeps' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for avoids that I've seen before include "Keeps away or refrains from" , "Escapes" , "Shuns, keeps away from" , "Ducks (out of)" , "Stays away from" .)