Examine clipped earring (4)
I believe the answer is:
stud
'earring' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'examine clipped' is the wordplay.
'examine' becomes 'study' ('study' can be a synonym of 'examine').
'clipped' means to remove the last letter.
'study' with its last letter removed is 'STUD'.
(Other definitions for stud that I've seen before include "Small piece of jewellery" , "Boss; shirt fastener" , "Football boot attachment" , "pin" , "Item designed to grip" .)