Start to live with spirit (5)
I believe the answer is:
begin
'start' is the definition.
('begin' can be a synonym of 'start')
'live with spirit' is the wordplay.
'live' becomes 'be' ('be' can be a synonym of 'live').
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'spirit' becomes 'gin' (I've seen this before).
'be'+'gin'='BEGIN'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for begin that I've seen before include "Partly open" , "Clandestine, furtive" , "Launch" , "Commence" , "Initiate" .)