'The Times' is out on strike (5)
I believe the answer is:
smite
'strike' is the definition.
(I know that smite is a more specific form of the action strike)
'the times is out' is the wordplay.
'is out' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'was out' mean this).
'times' with letters rearranged gives 'SMITE'.
'on' is the link.
(Other definitions for smite that I've seen before include "Funeral pile" , "Strike in archaic way at times" , "Hit hard in olden times" , "Whack" , "Strike firmly" .)