Exclude leader of general strike (4)
I believe the answer is:
bang
'strike' is the definition.
('bang' can be a synonym of 'strike')
'exclude leader of general' is the wordplay.
'exclude' becomes 'ban' (I've seen this in other clues).
'leader of' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'general' is 'g'.
'ban'+'g'='BANG'
(Other definitions for bang that I've seen before include "Explosive noise" , "A loud report or a collision" , "Gun sound" , "Sound of explosion" , "drug injection" .)