Contend with new creeper (4)
I believe the answer is:
vine
'creeper' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'contend with new' is the wordplay.
'contend' becomes 'vie' (synonyms).
'with' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'new' becomes 'n' (abbreviation as in New Testament NT).
'vie' placed around 'n' is 'VINE'.
(Other definitions for vine that I've seen before include "Climber - creeper" , "Climbing stem" , "Grape plant" , "Climbing fruiting plant" , "Bearer of grape" .)