Praise former lieutenant holding answer (5)
I believe the answer is:
exalt
'praise' is the definition.
(I know that exalt is a type of praise)
'former lieutenant holding answer' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'ex' (prefix meaning former or onetime).
'lieutenant' becomes 'lt' (abbreviation for lieutenant).
'holding' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'answer' becomes 'a' (abbreviation eg in Q and A).
'ex'+'lt'='exlt'
'exlt' enclosing 'a' is 'EXALT'.
(Other definitions for exalt that I've seen before include "Elevate" , "(P) raise" , "Lift up in praise" , "Uplift in praise" , "Promote" .)