Very bright beam showing small vessel, not heavy (9)
I believe the answer is:
spotlight
'very bright beam' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'small vessel not heavy' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'vessel' becomes 'pot' (type of container).
'not heavy' becomes 'light' ('light' is the opposite to 'heavy').
's'+'pot'+'light'='SPOTLIGHT'
'showing' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spotlight that I've seen before include "Illuminate" , "Give prominence to" , "Illumination focused on small area" , "Focus" , "Prominent position" .)