A small part in action was taken away (7)
I believe the answer is:
debited
'taken away' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with ownership as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'a small part in action' is the wordplay.
'a small part' becomes 'bit' (both mean a piece of something. I am not sure about the 'small' bit.).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'action' becomes 'deed' (deed is a kind of action).
'bit' put within 'deed' is 'DEBITED'.
'was' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for debited that I've seen before include "Taken from an account" , "Deducted" , "recorded in account" .)