(a) figurative extension of the core sense, e.g.,
HEADWORD: backbone
CORE SENSE: the series of vertebrae extending from the skull to the pelvis; the spine.
SUBSENSE: figurative the chief support of a system or organization; the mainstay:
EXAMPLE: 
these firms are the backbone of our industrial sector.
HEADWORD: bankrupt
CORE SENSE: (of a person or organization) declared in law unable to pay outstanding debts:
EXAMPLE: 
the company was declared bankrupt.
SUBSENSE: figurative completely lacking in a particular quality or value:
EXAMPLE: 
their cause is morally bankrupt.
(b) specialized case of the core sense, e.g.,
HEADWORD: zone
CORE SENSE: [usu. with adj.] an area or stretch of land having a particular characteristic, purpose, or use, or subject to particular restrictions:
EXAMPLE: 
a pedestrian zone.
SUBSENSE: Geography a
EXAMPLE: 
a zone of easterly winds.
SUBSENSE: Sports in basketball, football, and hockey, a specific area of the court, field, or rink, esp. one to be defended by a particular player, or the mode of defensive play using this system.
HEADWORD: demand
CORE SENSE: an insistent and peremptory request, made as if by right:
EXAMPLE: 
a series of demands for
SUBSENSE: Economics the desire of purchasers, consumers, clients, employers, etc., for a particular commodity, service, or other Item:
EXAMPLE: 
a recent slump in demand.
(c)other extension or shift in meaning, retaining one or more elements of the core sense, e.g.,
HEADWORD: bamboo
CORE SENSE: a giant woody grass that grows chiefly in the tropics, where it is widely cultivated.
SUBSENSE: the hollow jointed stem of this plant, used as a cane or to make furniture and implements:
EXAMPLE: [as adj.] 
a bamboo serving tray.
HEADWORD: management
CORE SENSE: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people:
EXAMPLE: 
the management of elk herds.
SUBSENSE: Medicine & Psychiatry the treatment or control of diseases, injuries, or disorders, or the care of patients who suffer from them:
EXAMPLE: 
the use of combination chemotherapy in the management of breast cancer.
HEADWORD: mandarin
CORE SENSE: an official in any of the nine top grades of the former imperial Chinese civil service.
SUBSENSE: a powerful official or senior bureaucrat, esp. one perceived as reactionary and secretive:
EXAMPLE: 
a civil service mandarin
Many entries have just one core sense. However some entries are more complex and have different strands of meaning, each constituting a core sense. In this case, each core sense is introduced by a bold sense number, and each potentially has its own block of subsenses relating to it.
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