Give in first place with pained expression (6)
I believe the answer is:
bestow
'give' is the definition.
(bestowing is a kind of giving)
'first place with pained expression' is the wordplay.
'first place' becomes 'best'.
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'pained expression' becomes 'ow' (exclamation of pain).
'best'+'ow'='BESTOW'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for bestow that I've seen before include "'Confer, present (6)'" , "Award, present as a gift" , "Set bow to give" , "Present, donate" , "Confer or award" .)