Crouch down in fear (5)
I believe the answer is:
cower
'crouch down in fear' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for cower that I've seen before include "Crouch in fear" , "Bend in fear" , "intimidating person?" , "Cringe, grovel" , "to emulate Burns's wee beastie" .)