Cut short barely adequate inspection (4)
I believe the answer is:
scan
'inspection' is the definition.
(scan is a kind of inspection)
'cut short barely adequate' is the wordplay.
'cut short' means to remove the last letter.
'barely adequate' becomes 'scant' (I've seen this before).
'scant' with its last letter removed is 'SCAN'.
(Other definitions for scan that I've seen before include "Traverse with a detector" , "Examine closely to analyse metrically" , "MRI or CAT say" , "make a detailed copy of" , "Survey - check-up" .)