Praise old sailor having had tip-off? (5)
I believe the answer is:
exalt
'praise' is the definition.
(exalting is a kind of praising)
'old sailor having had tip-off?' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'ex'.
'sailor' becomes 'salt' (salt is a kind of sailor).
'having had tip-off?' means to remove the first letter (the tip of the word is removed).
'salt' with its initial letter taken away is 'alt'.
'ex'+'alt'='EXALT'
(Other definitions for exalt that I've seen before include "Praise - latex (anag)" , "Extol" , "Raise high, glorify" , "Raise in rank, character, or status" , "Elevate" .)