Fade a lot, that is (3)
I believe the answer is:
die
'fade' is the definition.
(fade can mean to die away)
'a lot that is' is the wordplay.
'a lot' becomes 'd' ().
'that is' becomes 'ie' (short for Latin 'id est', 'that is').
'd'+'ie'='DIE'
(Other definitions for die that I've seen before include "Kick the bucket" , "rolling over - to do this?" , "One spotted" , "Pass from physical life" , "Numbered cube" .)