Means the tin is defective, one concludes (7)
I believe the answer is:
intends
'means' is the definition.
('intend' can be a synonym of 'mean')
'the tin is defective one concludes' is the wordplay.
'is defective' indicates anagramming the letters.
'one concludes' becomes 'ends' (I've seen this before).
'tin' is an anagram of 'int'.
'int'+'ends'='INTENDS'
(Other definitions for intends that I've seen before include "Aims" , "Plans, means" , "Has as a purpose" .)