Fellow trapped in the broken lift (4)
I believe the answer is:
heft
'lift' is the definition.
(hefting is a kind of lifting)
'fellow trapped in the broken' is the wordplay.
'fellow' becomes 'f' (abbreviation - of a society etc.).
'trapped in' indicates putting letters inside.
'broken' indicates an anagram.
'the' with letters rearranged gives 'het'.
'f' going into 'het' is 'HEFT'.
(Other definitions for heft that I've seen before include "Lift or hold something to assess its weight" , "Lift in order to heave, say an axe" , "Lift, carry; influence" , "Feel the weight of" , "Try to determine weight by lifting" .)