Recompense merit perhaps (5)
I believe the answer is:
remit
'recompense' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'merit perhaps' is the wordplay.
'perhaps' indicates an anagram.
'merit' with letters rearranged gives 'REMIT'.
(Other definitions for remit that I've seen before include "Send payment for timer" , "Send (money) in payment; pardon" , "Send back; scope of authority" , "Dispatch" , "Pay for timer" .)