Being out of time, dread making a mistake (5)
I believe the answer is:
error
'a mistake' is the definition.
(I know that mistake can be written as error)
'being out of time dread' is the wordplay.
'being out of' is a deletion indicator.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'dread' becomes 'terror' (synonyms).
'terror' with 't' taken away is 'ERROR'.
'making' is the link.
(Other definitions for error that I've seen before include "1 down" , "Slip, mistake" , "Miscarriage of justice" , "Mistake, lapse" , "Blunder or mistake" .)