Cut off from place a colleague is holding (8)
I believe the answer is:
amputate
'cut off' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'place a colleague is holding' is the wordplay.
'place' becomes 'put' (synonyms).
'colleague' becomes 'mate' (mate can mean a colleague or friend).
'is holding' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'a'+'mate'='amate'
'put' inserted within 'amate' is 'AMPUTATE'.
'from' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for amputate that I've seen before include "In theatre, remove" , "Sever" , "Surgically remove all or part of limb" , "Cut off (a limb)" , "Maybe disarm" .)