Field in spring, cut (3)
I believe the answer is:
lea
'field' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'spring cut' is the wordplay.
'spring' becomes 'leap' ('leap' can be a synonym of 'spring').
'cut' means to remove the last letter.
'leap' with its final letter taken off is 'LEA'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for lea that I've seen before include "River flowing through London" , "grazing area" , "Open arable land (poet.)" , "'The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the . . .'" , "Open country" .)