Sir sent out to embrace Penny - she's single (8)
I believe the answer is:
spinster
'she's single' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'sir sent out to embrace penny' is the wordplay.
'out' is an anagram indicator (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'to embrace' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'penny' becomes 'p' (short for pence).
'sir'+'sent'='sirsent'
'sirsent' with letters rearranged gives 'sinster'.
'sinster' placed around 'p' is 'SPINSTER'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spinster that I've seen before include "woman like Miss Havisham" , "For example, Miss Havisham" , "Unmarried older woman" , "matchless female" , "old maid, perhaps" .)