Compromise, in a word or two (8)
I believe the answer is:
endanger
'compromise' is the definition.
(I know that compromise is a more specific form of the action endanger)
'a word or two' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for endanger that I've seen before include "Pose a threat to" , "Jeopardize" , "Threaten" , "To put one at risk" , "Imperil" .)