Crossword Genius

Bring in soldier, perhaps, and material (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

important

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

'bring in soldier perhaps' is the wordplay.
'bring in' becomes 'import' (I've seen this before).
'soldier perhaps' becomes 'ant' (soldier is a type of ant).
'import'+'ant'='IMPORTANT'

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for important that I've seen before include "Significant, valuable" , "influential" , "essence" , "Leading" , "It's vital" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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