Type like this vacuous recruit (4)
I believe the answer is:
sort
'type' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'like this vacuous recruit' is the wordplay.
'like this' becomes 'so'.
'vacuous' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'recruit' with its centre taken out is 'rt'.
'so'+'rt'='SORT'
(Other definitions for sort that I've seen before include "class" , "Group" , "Kind, type or make" , "Arrange in order" , "Work out" .)