Mean to go first-class to Maidenhead (3)
I believe the answer is:
aim
'mean' is the definition.
(aiming is a kind of meaning)
'to go first-class to maidenhead' is the wordplay.
'go' suggests deleting specific letters.
'first-class' becomes 'ai' (A1 - top quality).
'maidenhead' becomes 'm' (head letter of 'maiden').
'ai'+'to'+'m'='aitom'
'aitom' with 'to' taken away is 'AIM'.
(Other definitions for aim that I've seen before include "mission" , "Plan" , "Goal, objective" , "Try to achieve" , "Attempt" .)