We would accept old age having stuck together (6)
I believe the answer is:
welded
'stuck together' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'we would accept old age' is the wordplay.
'we would' becomes 'wed'.
'accept' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'old age' becomes 'eld' (I've seen this before).
'wed' enclosing 'eld' is 'WELDED'.
'having' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for welded that I've seen before include "Joined metals by heating" , "Fused metals together through heat" , "Joined together by heating" .)