Laid next to adult struck with the nut (7)
I believe the answer is:
abutted
'laid next' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'adult struck with the nut' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'adult' could be 'a' (abbreviation) and 'a' is found within the answer.
'struck' could be 'butted' (butting is a kind of striking) and 'butted' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abutted that I've seen before include "Was close to" , "Lay next to" , "Adjoined, bordered" .)