Holding tureen nervously (6)
I believe the answer is:
tenure
'holding' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'tureen nervously' is the wordplay.
'nervously' indicates anagramming the letters.
'tureen' anagrammed gives 'TENURE'.
(Other definitions for tenure that I've seen before include "Period of occupation" , "Right to keep job" , "Dairy product" , "(Right of) occupancy" , "Possession of office or property" .)