diff --git a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
index 972f9e111f6..e87e6ebe465 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/alldocs.go
@@ -1994,6 +1994,9 @@
 //
 //	//go:build
 //
+// Build constraints can also be used to downgrade the language version
+// used to compile a file.
+//
 // Constraints may appear in any kind of source file (not just Go), but
 // they must appear near the top of the file, preceded
 // only by blank lines and other comments. These rules mean that in Go
@@ -2116,6 +2119,10 @@
 // with a "// +build" prefix. The gofmt command will add an equivalent //go:build
 // constraint when encountering the older syntax.
 //
+// In modules with a Go version of 1.21 or later, if a file's build constraint
+// has a term for a Go major release, the language version used when compiling
+// the file will be the minimum version implied by the build constraint.
+//
 // # Build modes
 //
 // The 'go build' and 'go install' commands take a -buildmode argument which
diff --git a/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go b/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go
index 791013dbfea..29c0a56321a 100644
--- a/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go
+++ b/src/cmd/go/internal/help/helpdoc.go
@@ -835,6 +835,9 @@ line comment that begins
 
 	//go:build
 
+Build constraints can also be used to downgrade the language version
+used to compile a file.
+
 Constraints may appear in any kind of source file (not just Go), but
 they must appear near the top of the file, preceded
 only by blank lines and other comments. These rules mean that in Go
@@ -954,5 +957,9 @@ only when building the package for 32-bit x86.
 Go versions 1.16 and earlier used a different syntax for build constraints,
 with a "// +build" prefix. The gofmt command will add an equivalent //go:build
 constraint when encountering the older syntax.
+
+In modules with a Go version of 1.21 or later, if a file's build constraint
+has a term for a Go major release, the language version used when compiling
+the file will be the minimum version implied by the build constraint.
 `,
 }