Article I had to back up (3)
I believe the answer is:
aid
'back up' is the definition.
(aiding is a kind of backing up)
'article i had' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'a' (English indefinite article).
'i had' becomes 'i'd' (I'd).
'a'+'id'='AID'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for aid that I've seen before include "assistant" , "Help or support" , "Good point" , "Help. Assist" , "A hand" .)