diff --git a/src/doc/reference.md b/src/doc/reference.md
index ce3fef982b962..b5a91a170d8ed 100644
--- a/src/doc/reference.md
+++ b/src/doc/reference.md
@@ -1732,7 +1732,7 @@ warnings are generated, or otherwise "you used a private item of another module
 and weren't allowed to."
 
 By default, everything in Rust is *private*, with two exceptions: Associated
-items of a Trait are public by default; Enum variants
+items in a `pub` Trait are public by default; Enum variants
 in a `pub` enum are also public by default. When an item is declared as `pub`,
 it can be thought of as being accessible to the outside world. For example: