Touching answer wins time (7)
I believe the answer is:
against
'touching' is the definition.
(eg leaning against something)
'answer wins time' is the wordplay.
'answer' becomes 'a' (abbreviation eg in Q and A).
'wins' becomes 'gains' ('gain' can be a synonym of 'win').
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'a'+'gains'+'t'='AGAINST'
(Other definitions for against that I've seen before include "In opposition to" , "Abutting" , "Opposing" , "Not favouring" , "In competition with" .)