Marched in time with staff (4)
I believe the answer is:
trod
'marched' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'time with staff' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'staff' becomes 'rod' (both can mean a stick or cane).
't'+'rod'='TROD'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for trod that I've seen before include "Walked upon" , "Stepped heavily" , "Pressed (grapes) by foot" , "Trudged, stepped" , "Walked (on something)" .)