Old tree left in front of yard (7)
I believe the answer is:
elderly
'old' is the definition.
('elderly' can be similar in meaning to 'old')
'tree left in front of yard' is the wordplay.
'tree' becomes 'elder' (elder is a kind of tree**).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'in front of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'yard' is 'y'.
'elder'+'l'+'y'='ELDERLY'
(Other definitions for elderly that I've seen before include "like a rich attorney's ugly daughter" , "Getting on a bit" , "Somewhat old" , "Getting on in years" , "Mature" .)