Emphasises the importance of second locks (8)
I believe the answer is:
stresses
'emphasises the importance' is the definition.
'stresses' can be an answer for 'emphasises' ('stress' can be a synonym of 'emphasize'). I'm not sure about the 'the importance' bit.
'second locks' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'locks' becomes 'tresses' (I've seen this before).
's'+'tresses'='STRESSES'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stresses that I've seen before include "Puts pressure on" , "Lays emphasis on" , "Pressures or tensions" .)