Crossword Genius

Marched president into empty helipad (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hiked

'marched' is the definition.
('hike' can be a synonym of 'march')

'president into empty helipad' is the wordplay.
'president' becomes 'ike' (I've seen this before).
'into' indicates putting letters inside.
'empty' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'helipad' with its centre taken out is 'hd'.
'ike' going inside 'hd' is 'HIKED'.

(Other definitions for hiked that I've seen before include "Took long walk" , "Walked" , "Went trekking" , "suddenly got a lift" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.