Under way a short distance (5)
I believe the answer is:
afoot
'under way' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a short distance' is the wordplay.
'short distance' becomes 'foot' (short unit of distance).
'a'+'foot'='AFOOT'
(Other definitions for afoot that I've seen before include "In the pipeline" , "Progressing, in operation - like Sherlock Holmes's game" , "About to happen" , "Going on" , "in the air" .)