diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5e010a3da2..7f766e2eb8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -132,6 +132,8 @@ release.
 - BREAKING: Rename `telemetry.auto.version` resource attribute to `telemetry.distro.version`
   and add `telemetry.distro.name` resource attribute
   ([#178](https://github.com/open-telemetry/semantic-conventions/pull/178))
+- Improve HTTP metric briefs.
+  ([#366](https://github.com/open-telemetry/semantic-conventions/pull/366))
 
 ## v1.21.0 (2023-07-13)
 
diff --git a/docs/http/http-metrics.md b/docs/http/http-metrics.md
index c406fa9e9e..e90b3d9249 100644
--- a/docs/http/http-metrics.md
+++ b/docs/http/http-metrics.md
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ of `[ 0.005, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10
 <!-- semconv metric.http.server.request.duration(metric_table) -->
 | Name     | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description    |
 | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
-| `http.server.request.duration` | Histogram | `s` | Measures the duration of inbound HTTP requests. |
+| `http.server.request.duration` | Histogram | `s` | Duration of HTTP server requests. |
 <!-- endsemconv -->
 
 <!-- semconv metric.http.server.request.duration(full) -->
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ This metric is optional.
 <!-- semconv metric.http.server.active_requests(metric_table) -->
 | Name     | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description    |
 | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
-| `http.server.active_requests` | UpDownCounter | `{request}` | Measures the number of concurrent HTTP requests that are currently in-flight. |
+| `http.server.active_requests` | UpDownCounter | `{request}` | Number of active HTTP server requests. |
 <!-- endsemconv -->
 
 <!-- semconv metric.http.server.active_requests(full) -->
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ This metric is optional.
 <!-- semconv metric.http.server.request.body.size(metric_table) -->
 | Name     | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description    |
 | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
-| `http.server.request.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Measures the size of HTTP request messages. [1] |
+| `http.server.request.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Size of HTTP server request bodies. [1] |
 
 **[1]:** The size of the request payload body in bytes. This is the number of bytes transferred excluding headers and is often, but not always, present as the [Content-Length](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#field.content-length) header. For requests using transport encoding, this should be the compressed size.
 <!-- endsemconv -->
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ This metric is optional.
 <!-- semconv metric.http.server.response.body.size(metric_table) -->
 | Name     | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description    |
 | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
-| `http.server.response.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Measures the size of HTTP response messages. [1] |
+| `http.server.response.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Size of HTTP server response bodies. [1] |
 
 **[1]:** The size of the response payload body in bytes. This is the number of bytes transferred excluding headers and is often, but not always, present as the [Content-Length](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#field.content-length) header. For requests using transport encoding, this should be the compressed size.
 <!-- endsemconv -->
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ of `[ 0.005, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10
 <!-- semconv metric.http.client.request.duration(metric_table) -->
 | Name     | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description    |
 | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
-| `http.client.request.duration` | Histogram | `s` | Measures the duration of outbound HTTP requests. |
+| `http.client.request.duration` | Histogram | `s` | Duration of HTTP client requests. |
 <!-- endsemconv -->
 
 <!-- semconv metric.http.client.request.duration(full) -->
@@ -549,7 +549,7 @@ This metric is optional.
 <!-- semconv metric.http.client.request.body.size(metric_table) -->
 | Name     | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description    |
 | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
-| `http.client.request.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Measures the size of HTTP request messages. [1] |
+| `http.client.request.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Size of HTTP client request bodies. [1] |
 
 **[1]:** The size of the request payload body in bytes. This is the number of bytes transferred excluding headers and is often, but not always, present as the [Content-Length](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#field.content-length) header. For requests using transport encoding, this should be the compressed size.
 <!-- endsemconv -->
@@ -644,7 +644,7 @@ This metric is optional.
 <!-- semconv metric.http.client.response.body.size(metric_table) -->
 | Name     | Instrument Type | Unit (UCUM) | Description    |
 | -------- | --------------- | ----------- | -------------- |
-| `http.client.response.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Measures the size of HTTP response messages. [1] |
+| `http.client.response.body.size` | Histogram | `By` | Size of HTTP client response bodies. [1] |
 
 **[1]:** The size of the response payload body in bytes. This is the number of bytes transferred excluding headers and is often, but not always, present as the [Content-Length](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#field.content-length) header. For requests using transport encoding, this should be the compressed size.
 <!-- endsemconv -->
diff --git a/model/metrics/http.yaml b/model/metrics/http.yaml
index 8e6f350929..89c54cb2c6 100644
--- a/model/metrics/http.yaml
+++ b/model/metrics/http.yaml
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ groups:
   - id: metric.http.server.request.duration
     type: metric
     metric_name: http.server.request.duration
-    brief: "Measures the duration of inbound HTTP requests."
+    brief: "Duration of HTTP server requests."
     instrument: histogram
     unit: "s"
     extends: metric_attributes.http.server
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ groups:
   - id: metric.http.server.active_requests
     type: metric
     metric_name: http.server.active_requests
-    brief: "Measures the number of concurrent HTTP requests that are currently in-flight."
+    brief: "Number of active HTTP server requests."
     instrument: updowncounter
     unit: "{request}"
     attributes:
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ groups:
   - id: metric.http.server.request.body.size
     type: metric
     metric_name: http.server.request.body.size
-    brief: "Measures the size of HTTP request messages."
+    brief: "Size of HTTP server request bodies."
     instrument: histogram
     unit: "By"
     note: >
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ groups:
   - id: metric.http.server.response.body.size
     type: metric
     metric_name: http.server.response.body.size
-    brief: "Measures the size of HTTP response messages."
+    brief: "Size of HTTP server response bodies."
     instrument: histogram
     unit: "By"
     note: >
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ groups:
   - id: metric.http.client.request.duration
     type: metric
     metric_name: http.client.request.duration
-    brief: "Measures the duration of outbound HTTP requests."
+    brief: "Duration of HTTP client requests."
     instrument: histogram
     unit: "s"
     extends: metric_attributes.http.client
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ groups:
   - id: metric.http.client.request.body.size
     type: metric
     metric_name: http.client.request.body.size
-    brief: "Measures the size of HTTP request messages."
+    brief: "Size of HTTP client request bodies."
     instrument: histogram
     unit: "By"
     note: >
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ groups:
   - id: metric.http.client.response.body.size
     type: metric
     metric_name: http.client.response.body.size
-    brief: "Measures the size of HTTP response messages."
+    brief: "Size of HTTP client response bodies."
     instrument: histogram
     unit: "By"
     note: >