Place holding dead woman (4)
I believe the answer is:
lady
'woman' is the definition.
(lady is a kind of woman)
'place holding dead' is the wordplay.
'place' becomes 'lay' (laying is a kind of placing**).
'holding' is an insertion indicator.
'dead' becomes 'd'.
'lay' going around 'd' is 'LADY'.
(Other definitions for lady that I've seen before include "Wife of gentleman" , "Woman, of refinement perhaps" , "See 19" , "Female peer" , "Woman, maybe titled" .)