A master gets a laboratory in a state (7)
I believe the answer is:
alabama
'a state' is the definition.
(Alabama is an example)
'a master gets a laboratory in' is the wordplay.
'master' becomes 'ma' (**).
'gets' indicates putting letters inside (gets can mean captures or absorbs).
'laboratory' becomes 'lab' ('lab' can be a synonym of 'laboratory').
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'a'+'ma'='ama'
'ama' placed around 'a' is 'aama'.
'aama' enclosing 'lab' is 'ALABAMA'.
(Other definitions for alabama that I've seen before include "State of southeastern US" , "17th US state, joined 1819" , "SE US state" , "part of US" , "US state in which Birmingham is situated" .)