Change pub, getting applause (10)
I believe the answer is:
innovation
'change' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'pub getting applause' is the wordplay.
'pub' becomes 'inn' (an inn is a type of pub).
'getting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'applause' becomes 'ovation' (I've seen this before).
'inn'+'ovation'='INNOVATION'
(Other definitions for innovation that I've seen before include "Something new" , "What's new" , "Something introduced as a novelty" , "New product" , "New idea" .)