The point in figure-skating is twirls (4)
I believe the answer is:
gist
'the point' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'in figure-skating is twirls' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates a hidden word.
'GIST' can be found hidden inside 'figure skating is twirls'.
(Other definitions for gist that I've seen before include "Substance or general idea" , "Basic meaning" , "Substance of an argument" , "Real point or substance" , "The substance of a text" .)