Crossword Genius

Claim pier was engineered and observed (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

empirical

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'observed' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'claim pier was engineered' is the wordplay.
'claim pier' anagrams to 'EMPIRICAL'.
However, I'm unsure how the anagram is indicated.

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for empirical that I've seen before include "Based on experience or experiment" , "Established by experiment" , "Derived from experience" , "Mail price (anag.)" , "Based on observation or experience" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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