Inadequate container in dirty place (6)
I believe the answer is:
scanty
'inadequate' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'container in dirty place' is the wordplay.
'container' becomes 'can' (can is a kind of container**).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'dirty place' becomes 'sty' (I've seen this in other clues).
'can' placed within 'sty' is 'SCANTY'.
(Other definitions for scanty that I've seen before include "Give (to a good cause)" , "Spare" , "Insufficient in quantity" , "Sparse, meagre" , "Modest" .)