Bound to suffer defeat after short dash around (7)
I believe the answer is:
enclose
'bound' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'to suffer defeat after short dash around' is the wordplay.
'to suffer defeat' becomes 'lose'.
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'short dash' becomes 'en' (en dash is a short dash half as long as an em dash).
'around' becomes 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa').
'en'+'c'='enc'
'lose' put after 'enc' is 'ENCLOSE'.
(Other definitions for enclose that I've seen before include "Encompass" , "Bound" , "Totally surround" , "Surround, envelop" , "Shut in" .)