Apply to become a painter? (7)
I believe the answer is:
pertain
'apply to' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'become a painter?' is the wordplay.
'become' indicates anagramming the letters.
'painter' is an anagram of 'PERTAIN'.
(Other definitions for pertain that I've seen before include "Be related or applicable (to something)" , "Have relevance" , "Relate (to), apply (to)" , "Be relevant, or belong as part" , "Painter (anag) - relate (to)" .)