Stay in Lincoln - I would (5)
I believe the answer is:
abide
'stay' is the definition.
(abiding is a kind of staying)
'in lincoln i would' is the wordplay.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'lincoln' becomes 'abe'.
'i would' becomes 'id'.
'abe' placed around 'id' is 'ABIDE'.
(Other definitions for abide that I've seen before include "Endure, tolerate" , "Remain - tolerate" , "Last" , "Endure; dwell" , "Live, dwell (archaic)" .)