diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7c31c91a5198a..f49ec4b8d98ee 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,8 +25,9 @@
 
 ## Powering In-Memory Analytics
 
-Apache Arrow is a development platform for in-memory analytics. It contains a
-set of technologies that enable big data systems to process and move data fast.
+Apache Arrow is a universal columnar format and multi-language toolbox for fast
+data interchange and in-memory analytics. It contains a set of technologies that
+enable data systems to efficiently store, process, and move data.
 
 Major components of the project include:
 
diff --git a/docs/source/index.rst b/docs/source/index.rst
index 3e678c78b6963..4b16f1f9db142 100644
--- a/docs/source/index.rst
+++ b/docs/source/index.rst
@@ -20,15 +20,14 @@
 Apache Arrow
 ============
 
-Apache Arrow is a development platform for in-memory analytics. It contains a
-set of technologies that enable big data systems to process and move data
-fast. It specifies a standardized language-independent columnar memory format
-for flat and hierarchical data, organized for efficient analytic operations on
-modern hardware.
+Apache Arrow is a universal columnar format and multi-language toolbox for fast
+data interchange and in-memory analytics.
 
-The project is developing a multi-language collection of libraries for solving
-systems problems related to in-memory analytical data processing. This includes
-such topics as:
+The project specifies a language-independent column-oriented memory format
+for flat and hierarchical data, organized for efficient analytic operations on
+modern hardware. The project houses an actively developed collection of
+libraries in many languages for solving problems related to data transfer and
+in-memory analytical processing. This includes such topics as:
 
 * Zero-copy shared memory and RPC-based data movement
 * Reading and writing file formats (like CSV, Apache ORC, and Apache Parquet)
diff --git a/docs/source/python/index.rst b/docs/source/python/index.rst
index 7acff940ba2ad..337769f246ee7 100644
--- a/docs/source/python/index.rst
+++ b/docs/source/python/index.rst
@@ -25,8 +25,9 @@ PyArrow - Apache Arrow Python bindings
 
 This is the documentation of the Python API of Apache Arrow.
 
-Apache Arrow is a development platform for in-memory analytics.
-It contains a set of technologies that enable big data systems to store, process and move data fast.
+Apache Arrow is a universal columnar format and multi-language toolbox for fast
+data interchange and in-memory analytics. It contains a set of technologies that
+enable data systems to efficiently store, process, and move data.
 
 See the :doc:`parent documentation <../index>` for additional details on
 the Arrow Project itself, on the Arrow format and the other language bindings.