Try to buy a lot (3)
I believe the answer is:
bid
'try' is the definition.
(bid is a kind of try)
'buy a lot' is the wordplay.
'buy' becomes 'bi' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'a lot' becomes 'd'.
'bi'+'d'='BID'
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bid that I've seen before include "Try" , "Offer a price" , "Sum offered at an auction" , "Take part in auction" , "Offer a sum of money to buy" .)