diff --git a/docs/source/command_line.rst b/docs/source/command_line.rst
index db2407e17df8b..361adc6c3e70e 100644
--- a/docs/source/command_line.rst
+++ b/docs/source/command_line.rst
@@ -1089,12 +1089,12 @@ Report generation
 If these flags are set, mypy will generate a report in the specified
 format into the specified directory.
 
-.. option:: --any-exprs-report DIR
+.. option:: --any-exprs-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate a text file report documenting how many
     expressions of type ``Any`` are present within your codebase.
 
-.. option:: --cobertura-xml-report DIR
+.. option:: --cobertura-xml-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate a Cobertura XML type checking coverage report.
 
@@ -1102,7 +1102,7 @@ format into the specified directory.
     library or specify mypy installation with the setuptools extra
     ``mypy[reports]``.
 
-.. option:: --html-report / --xslt-html-report DIR
+.. option:: --html-report / --xslt-html-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate an HTML type checking coverage report.
 
@@ -1110,23 +1110,23 @@ format into the specified directory.
     library or specify mypy installation with the setuptools extra
     ``mypy[reports]``.
 
-.. option:: --linecount-report DIR
+.. option:: --linecount-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate a text file report documenting the functions
     and lines that are typed and untyped within your codebase.
 
-.. option:: --linecoverage-report DIR
+.. option:: --linecoverage-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate a JSON file that maps each source file's
     absolute filename to a list of line numbers that belong to typed
     functions in that file.
 
-.. option:: --lineprecision-report DIR
+.. option:: --lineprecision-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate a flat text file report with per-module
     statistics of how many lines are typechecked etc.
 
-.. option:: --txt-report / --xslt-txt-report DIR
+.. option:: --txt-report / --xslt-txt-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate a text file type checking coverage report.
 
@@ -1134,7 +1134,7 @@ format into the specified directory.
     library or specify mypy installation with the setuptools extra
     ``mypy[reports]``.
 
-.. option:: --xml-report DIR
+.. option:: --xml-report OUTPUT_DIR
 
     Causes mypy to generate an XML type checking coverage report.
 
diff --git a/mypy/main.py b/mypy/main.py
index fd50c7677a112..7484442e74294 100644
--- a/mypy/main.py
+++ b/mypy/main.py
@@ -1127,13 +1127,14 @@ def add_invertible_flag(
     internals_group.add_argument("--export-ref-info", action="store_true", help=argparse.SUPPRESS)
 
     report_group = parser.add_argument_group(
-        title="Report generation", description="Generate a report in the specified format."
+        title="Report generation",
+        description="Generate a report in the specified format into the specified directory.",
     )
     for report_type in sorted(defaults.REPORTER_NAMES):
         if report_type not in {"memory-xml"}:
             report_group.add_argument(
                 f"--{report_type.replace('_', '-')}-report",
-                metavar="DIR",
+                metavar="OUTPUT_DIR",
                 dest=f"special-opts:{report_type}_report",
             )