Many retreat before landowner (5)
I believe the answer is:
laird
'landowner' is the definition.
(Scottish term for a landowner)
'many retreat before' is the wordplay.
'many' becomes 'd'.
'retreat' becomes 'lair' (I've seen this before).
'before' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'd' after 'lair' is 'LAIRD'.
(Other definitions for laird that I've seen before include "One's landed in Scotland" , "He's landed in Scotland" , "Big landowner" , "Scot. landowner" , "rich Scotsman" .)