diff --git a/crates/ruff_workspace/src/options.rs b/crates/ruff_workspace/src/options.rs
index d349a8631c..27bfab9934 100644
--- a/crates/ruff_workspace/src/options.rs
+++ b/crates/ruff_workspace/src/options.rs
@@ -2257,7 +2257,31 @@ pub struct IsortOptions {
 
     // Tables are required to go last.
     /// A list of mappings from section names to modules.
-    /// By default custom sections are output last, but this can be overridden with `section-order`.
+    ///
+    /// By default, imports are categorized according to their type (e.g., `future`, `third-party`,
+    /// and so on). This setting allows you to group modules into custom sections, to augment or
+    /// override the built-in sections.
+    ///
+    /// For example, to group all testing utilities, you could create a `testing` section:
+    /// ```toml
+    /// testing = ["pytest", "hypothesis"]
+    /// ```
+    ///
+    /// Custom sections should typically be inserted into the `section-order` list to ensure that
+    /// they're displayed as a standalone group and in the intended order, as in:
+    /// ```toml
+    /// section-order = [
+    ///   "future",
+    ///   "standard-library",
+    ///   "third-party",
+    ///   "first-party",
+    ///   "local-folder",
+    ///   "testing"
+    /// ]
+    /// ```
+    ///
+    /// If a custom section is omitted from `section-order`, imports in that section will be
+    /// assigned to the `default-section` (which defaults to `third-party`).
     #[option(
         default = "{}",
         value_type = "dict[str, list[str]]",
diff --git a/ruff.schema.json b/ruff.schema.json
index 9c2d65110c..5762ef9d40 100644
--- a/ruff.schema.json
+++ b/ruff.schema.json
@@ -1698,7 +1698,7 @@
           }
         },
         "sections": {
-          "description": "A list of mappings from section names to modules. By default custom sections are output last, but this can be overridden with `section-order`.",
+          "description": "A list of mappings from section names to modules.\n\nBy default, imports are categorized according to their type (e.g., `future`, `third-party`, and so on). This setting allows you to group modules into custom sections, to augment or override the built-in sections.\n\nFor example, to group all testing utilities, you could create a `testing` section: ```toml testing = [\"pytest\", \"hypothesis\"] ```\n\nCustom sections should typically be inserted into the `section-order` list to ensure that they're displayed as a standalone group and in the intended order, as in: ```toml section-order = [ \"future\", \"standard-library\", \"third-party\", \"first-party\", \"local-folder\", \"testing\" ] ```\n\nIf a custom section is omitted from `section-order`, imports in that section will be assigned to the `default-section` (which defaults to `third-party`).",
           "type": [
             "object",
             "null"