Classic bear on a road (8)
I believe the answer is:
standard
'classic' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'bear on a road' is the wordplay.
'bear' becomes 'stand' (synonyms).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'road' becomes 'rd' (abbreviation).
'stand'+'a'+'rd'='STANDARD'
(Other definitions for standard that I've seen before include "Flag - of the usual kind" , "Possible 1930s song" , "Big tree specially trained" , "Accepted model - flag" , "some soldiers find bearable?" .)