Better east coast US state or European island (5)
I believe the answer is:
capri
'island' is the definition.
(Italian island)
'better east coast us state or european' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'better' could be 'cap' (both can mean to beat somebody else's attempt) and 'cap' is located in the answer.
'state' could be 'ri' (Rhode Island abbreviation) and 'ri' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for capri that I've seen before include "popular resort" , "holiday destination" , "Island near Naples" , "Romantic and expensive island in Bay of Naples" , "Italian isle" .)