Cut wood with force (4)
I believe the answer is:
gash
'cut' is the definition.
(a gash is a wound or cut)
'wood with force' is the wordplay.
'wood' becomes 'ash' (wood from an ash tree).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'force' becomes 'g' (short for gravity).
'ash' put after 'g' is 'GASH'.
(Other definitions for gash that I've seen before include "score heavily" , "surplus to requirements" , "Spare - rubbish" , "Cut deeply" , "Unnecessary" .)