diff --git a/Doc/library/typing.rst b/Doc/library/typing.rst
index 57979cbb08e69a..4d833dc497f177 100644
--- a/Doc/library/typing.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/typing.rst
@@ -2150,7 +2150,7 @@ Functions and decorators
 
 .. function:: assert_type(val, typ, /)
 
-   Assert (to the type checker) that *val* has an inferred type of *typ*.
+   Ask a static type checker to confirm that *val* has an inferred type of *typ*.
 
    When the type checker encounters a call to ``assert_type()``, it
    emits an error if the value is not of the specified type::
diff --git a/Lib/typing.py b/Lib/typing.py
index f0e84900d7f80a..64b348e0b9d5ca 100644
--- a/Lib/typing.py
+++ b/Lib/typing.py
@@ -2085,7 +2085,7 @@ def cast(typ, val):
 
 
 def assert_type(val, typ, /):
-    """Assert (to the type checker) that the value is of the given type.
+    """Ask a static type checker to confirm that the value is of the given type.
 
     When the type checker encounters a call to assert_type(), it
     emits an error if the value is not of the specified type::