As an example, was beyond nervous (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
past tense
'as an example was' is the definition.
('was' is the past tense form of 'is')
'beyond nervous' is the wordplay.
'beyond' becomes 'past' (to go beyond something is to go past it).
'nervous' becomes 'tense' (similar in meaning).
'past'+'tense'='PAST TENSE'
(Other definitions for past tense that I've seen before include "Grammatical verb form" , "history?" , "It expresses something that has happened" , "Was perhaps" , "Form of verb showing that the action has already happened" .)