People beginning to do repair (4)
I believe the answer is:
mend
'repair' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'people beginning to do' is the wordplay.
'people' becomes 'men' (men are people).
'beginning to' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'do' is 'd'.
'men'+'d'='MEND'
(Other definitions for mend that I've seen before include "'Restore, fix (4)'" , "Heal" , "Put right" , "Fix, repair" , "Make improvements" .)