Graduate has article to wash (5)
I believe the answer is:
bathe
'wash' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'graduate has article' is the wordplay.
'graduate' becomes 'ba' (someone with a Bachelor of Arts degree).
'has' says to put letters next to each other.
'article' becomes 'the' (the definite article in English).
'ba'+'the'='BATHE'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for bathe that I've seen before include "Become immersed in" , "Take a swim; envelop" , "Take dip in sea" , "Swim or dip" , "Bask" .)