Useless in record time (5)
I believe the answer is:
inept
'useless' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'in record time' is the wordplay.
'record' becomes 'ep'.
'time' becomes 't'.
'in'+'ep'+'t'='INEPT'
(Other definitions for inept that I've seen before include "Useless, awkward" , "Hopeless; bungling" , "Wanting" , "Standard required in a piece of work (colloq.)" , "Cack-handed" .)