What could be first noise during spoken exam (7)
I believe the answer is:
ordinal
'what could be first' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'noise during spoken exam' is the wordplay.
'noise' becomes 'din' (din can mean a loud noise or disturbance).
'during' is an insertion indicator.
'spoken exam' becomes 'oral' (oral examination).
'din' placed within 'oral' is 'ORDINAL'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ordinal that I've seen before include "Possibly first or second" , "E.g. first" , "First, for One" , "First, second, third could be such a numeral" , "Roman Catholic service book" .)