Praise a youth about to start up (4)
I believe the answer is:
laud
'praise' is the definition.
(I know that laud is a type of praise)
'a youth about to start up' is the wordplay.
'a youth' becomes 'lad' (I've seen this in another clue).
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'to start' means to remove the last letter (I've seen 'starts' mean this).
'up' with its final letter taken away is 'u'.
'lad' going around 'u' is 'LAUD'.
(Other definitions for laud that I've seen before include "Name of archbishop; praise" , "Praise, magnify" , "Praise, extol" , "Praise formally" , "Praise - celebrate" .)