Draw level, almost (3)
I believe the answer is:
tie
'draw' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'level almost' is the wordplay.
'level' becomes 'tier' (synonyms).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'tier' with its last letter taken off is 'TIE'.
(Other definitions for tie that I've seen before include "Drawn score" , "garb" , "Draw; link" , "Draw - knot" , "Bond, link" .)