Meaningfully, I get close to den (2,7)
I believe the answer is:
in earnest
'meaningfully' is the definition.
'i get close to den' is the wordplay.
'get' says to put letters next to each other.
'close to' becomes 'near' (I've seen this before).
'den' becomes 'nest' (I've seen this before).
'i'+'near'+'nest'='IN EARNEST'
(Other definitions for in earnest that I've seen before include "with sincere intentions" , "With serious intention, not fooling about (2.7)" , "showing determination" , "resolutely" , "Sincere in intention" .)