In the article, illustrative material as one of the lexicographic parameters of an explanatory dictionary is considered on the example of the phrases of the«Modern Explanatory Dictionary of Living Russian Language». The source of their formation, variety of forms, content, and the functions performed in the dictionary entry were recorded. Illustrative material dictionary zone contains the information linking it with many other parameters and also can include extralinguistic data. The way of information representation with the help of phrases is characterized by clear visibility to the user, however, the value of illustrative material for modern practical linguistics goes beyond the specific task of lexicography. The desire to reflect in examples as much information as possible which confirms and develops the characteristics given in other areas of the dictionary entry must be balanced against the requirement of efficiency and compactness of data representation.