diff --git a/programs/zstd.1 b/programs/zstd.1
index c93755f87..cb4e1271a 100644
--- a/programs/zstd.1
+++ b/programs/zstd.1
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ keep source file(s) after successful compression or decompression\. This is the
 .
 .TP
 \fB\-r\fR
-operate recursively on dictionaries
+operate recursively on directories
 .
 .TP
 \fB\-\-format=FORMAT\fR
diff --git a/programs/zstd.1.md b/programs/zstd.1.md
index a029af5ff..93c6fa400 100644
--- a/programs/zstd.1.md
+++ b/programs/zstd.1.md
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ the last one takes effect.
     keep source file(s) after successful compression or decompression.
     This is the default behavior.
 * `-r`:
-    operate recursively on dictionaries
+    operate recursively on directories
 * `--format=FORMAT`:
     compress and decompress in other formats. If compiled with
     support, zstd can compress to or decompress from other compression algorithm