diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py b/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py
index f8187fbf845b..cdd92f2bb6a6 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/colorbar.py
@@ -162,9 +162,9 @@
 
 Returns
 -------
-:class:`~matplotlib.colorbar.Colorbar` instance
-    See also its base class, `~matplotlib.colorbar.ColorbarBase`.  Call the
-    `~.ColorbarBase.set_label` method to label the colorbar.
+colorbar : `~matplotlib.colorbar.Colorbar`
+    See also its base class, `~matplotlib.colorbar.ColorbarBase`.  Use
+    `~.ColorbarBase.set_label` to label the colorbar.
 
 Notes
 -----