Crowd surrounding one in lift (5)
I believe the answer is:
hoist
'lift' is the definition.
('hoist' can be a synonym of 'lift')
'crowd surrounding one' is the wordplay.
'crowd' becomes 'host' (I've seen this before).
'surrounding' is an insertion indicator.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral**).
'host' enclosing 'i' is 'HOIST'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for hoist that I've seen before include "piece of lifting gear" , "Winch" , "Device for lifting, often attached to 5 down" , "Heave upwards" , "Lift (mechanically)" .)