Force meeting with defeat - it’s a very thin line? (5)
I believe the answer is:
floss
'a very thin line?' is the definition.
'floss' can be an answer for 'line?' (floss is a kind of line). I'm not certain of the 'a very thin' bit.
'force meeting with defeat' is the wordplay.
'force' becomes 'f' (scientific abbreviation).
'meeting with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'defeat' becomes 'loss' (I've seen this before).
'f'+'loss'='FLOSS'
'it's' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for floss that I've seen before include "flower in Victorian novel" , "teeth cleaner" , "Eliot's river" , "Thread used for tooth-cleaning" , "What dentist could recommend" .)