Figurehead let down by elite (6)
I believe the answer is:
flower
'elite' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'figurehead let down by' is the wordplay.
'figurehead' becomes 'f' (head letter of 'figure').
'let down' becomes 'lower' (synonyms).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'f'+'lower'='FLOWER'
(Other definitions for flower that I've seen before include "rose, perhaps" , "Don, say" , "One found in bed perhaps" , "Bloom" , "Garden plant" .)