Bear brings death to river (6)
I believe the answer is:
endure
'bear' is the definition.
('endure' can be a synonym of 'bear')
'death to river' is the wordplay.
'death' becomes 'end' ('end' can be a synonym of 'death').
'to river' becomes 'ure' (I have seen 'River of Wensleydale ' mean 'ure' so perhaps 'river' could also mean 'ure').
'end'+'ure'='ENDURE'
'brings' is the link.
(Other definitions for endure that I've seen before include "Suffer, tolerate" , "Abide" , "'Last, prevail (6)'" , "Bear something patiently" , "Stomach" .)