Cherries perhaps scared to take on United (5)
I believe the answer is:
fruit
'cherries perhaps' is the definition.
(I know that cherry is a type of fruit)
'scared to take on united' is the wordplay.
'scared' becomes 'frit'.
'to take on' indicates putting letters inside.
'united' becomes 'U' (abbreviation).
'frit' enclosing 'u' is 'FRUIT'.
(Other definitions for fruit that I've seen before include "Reward of activity" , "Kiwi, mandarin etc" , "Greengrocer's produce" , "Oranges and lemons" , "Apples, pears etc" .)