Parrot -- one friend holds it (7)
I believe the answer is:
imitate
'parrot' is the definition.
(to parrot is to copy or imitate)
'one friend holds it' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'friend' becomes 'mate' (mate is a kind of friend).
'holds' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'mate' placed around 'it' is 'mitate'.
'i'+'mitate'='IMITATE'
(Other definitions for imitate that I've seen before include "Take as a model" , "Mimic or follow as a model" , "Parrot" , "Copy someone" , "Copy (mannerisms)" .)