Do nothing, being in dire straits (4)
I believe the answer is:
rest
'do nothing' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'in dire straits' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates a hidden word.
'REST' can be found hidden inside 'dire straits'.
'being' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for rest that I've seen before include "Slumber" , "still holding it" , "Motionlessness" , "Lie down" , "Support for putting things on" .)