Crossword Genius

Bring in insect in material (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

important

'material' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'bring in insect' is the wordplay.
'bring in' becomes 'import' (bring in to a country).
'insect' becomes 'ant' (ant is a kind of insect).
'import'+'ant'='IMPORTANT'

'in' is the link.

(Other definitions for important that I've seen before include "Crucial" , "Leading" , "Meaningful" , "Noteworthy, significant" , "Main" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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