Except broken vase (4)
I believe the answer is:
save
'except' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'broken vase' is the wordplay.
'broken' indicates anagramming the letters.
'vase' is an anagram of 'SAVE'.
(Other definitions for save that I've seen before include "Be economical" , "Rescue; store" , "Rescue for a rainy day?" , "Bar" , "Retain" .)