Steeple top, lofty, causes delay (5)
I believe the answer is:
stall
'delay' is the definition.
(I know that stall is a more specific form of delay)
'steeple top lofty' is the wordplay.
'top' indicates taking the first letters (in a down clue, the first letter is top).
'lofty' becomes 'tall' (synonyms).
The first letter of 'steeple' is 's'.
's'+'tall'='STALL'
'causes' is the link.
(Other definitions for stall that I've seen before include "Hedge" , "Stable compartment" , "Booth; prevaricate" , "Kiosk" , "digital protection" .)