Taxi provider, needing lift, first to solve puzzle (5)
I believe the answer is:
rebus
'puzzle' is the definition.
(type of visual puzzle)
'taxi provider needing lift first to solve' is the wordplay.
'taxi provider' becomes 'Uber' (Uber is a taxi app).
'needing lift' is a reversal indicator (in a down clue, letters go up).
'first to' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'solve' is 's'.
'uber' in reverse letter order is 'rebu'.
'rebu'+'s'='REBUS'
(Other definitions for rebus that I've seen before include "Visual wordplay - Rankin's inspector" , "Pictorial pun - fictional detective" , "solver?" , "Word puzzle with pictures and letters" , "Puzzling symbols, etc" .)