diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5189dc5..8fc0fb4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,16 @@ Notable changes to the Evomedia.net Token Savers.
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Changed
+- **`zversion bump` is once per *release*, not once per PR** — the usage text
+  and the `bump` help line both said "one per PR, one per defect fix". The
+  build number names something that shipped, so a release carrying five PRs
+  moves it by one; PRs that never shipped on their own were never separate
+  builds. Help text only here, but it is the wording people follow: it stamped
+  a single evo.www release as two builds. The historical entry below, which
+  records what the rule was when `zversion` shipped, is deliberately left as
+  written.
+
 ### Added
 - **Read a live build from inside the docker network, not through the public
   proxy** — `zdeploy`, `zec2` and `zec2online` now prefer
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.txt b/CHANGELOG.txt
index 174e76c..e9ed815 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.txt
+++ b/CHANGELOG.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,16 @@ Notable changes to the Evomedia.net Token Savers.
 
 Unreleased
 ----------
+Changed
+- zversion bump is once per RELEASE, not once per PR - the usage text and
+  the bump help line both said "one per PR, one per defect fix". The build
+  number names something that shipped, so a release carrying five PRs moves
+  it by one; PRs that never shipped on their own were never separate builds.
+  Help text only here, but it is the wording people follow: it stamped a
+  single evo.www release as two builds. The historical entry below, which
+  records what the rule was when zversion shipped, is deliberately left as
+  written.
+
 Added
 - Read a live build from inside the docker network, not through the public
   proxy — zdeploy, zec2 and zec2online now prefer
diff --git a/CHECKSUMS.txt b/CHECKSUMS.txt
index e60e525..8f4ae09 100644
--- a/CHECKSUMS.txt
+++ b/CHECKSUMS.txt
@@ -8,14 +8,14 @@ b2b867d4ef36c988fa86bd765a62ffa106a49a9f70ea0cc0543823b1b9a02c3b  zbackup_ec2.ps
 6f6990f3e2a989840b0e65b02550e0a984675d5929427d7d42d79bc58d166899  zchecksums.cmd
 d093e61d75565e15cd40ebd28a053a2e9b1311e4b7dbcf51055709070cba5746  zchecksums.ps1
 6ffe7af1925428b558eaf753a8feaf01927f9f6087079cc7bccf537357cc5da1  zdeploy.cmd
-ad0773b227eb11b880ef111758869e2e02e31701f9990365e6d4e0a8a48a9280  zdeploy.ps1
+65cbb3e17240ca75d85169fcd888f27fe93c30c9bbe38ff48dcdadbcddb2ef8d  zdeploy.ps1
 13e08c16a0e53538e0e8ae1a4af844c4edfe9ef531067a3329dbe97b9be04c86  zec2.cmd
 f691c11264f539e4f9a9fc221a253ffb8dd90dc5d05dc5bfa80eaa7de0530e30  zec2.ps1
 41c44f0221f12041c04128d00892de20eb30e7a683cda754de41b92b797370c0  zec2_rotatekeys.cmd
 51fe6478dde1c7a7b7808452d98ca5a413caec8dfeb0265f7b6d39668fd07e3a  zec2_rotatekeys.ps1
 655b21ab476151cf39b66ef3ce3dd4a0d66f4a80a85fd2b285a73aa35fdcd00d  zec2online.cmd
 a210794f0538fe9680743e837407b035ab529a48dc76aace6e807c26b9bf4369  zec2online.ps1
-f21dbe173e88435a7712b390f27cdfa269c55817489a44c4a4b35b9586b87899  ZHelpers.ps1
+6a3b1e7e6f3f14b6d682527302b8207b21481076171b35f524fa4f6f7c88f21e  ZHelpers.ps1
 da2c456b20c97791d421caa4d03152eff90f631f137c2dc79e7d85c0874fb384  zkill.cmd
 0b1cae425ca373b91349184865c6331b5a16d6004d01906df2071709a180d4e4  zkill.ps1
 8aa7dac20298c1d3e7ccc8cf310ea398d67525b4a4c3256f6c6b2aca0cfb4032  ZKiller.ps1
@@ -39,4 +39,4 @@ c73301f2b2074ac8ce75b6f3e5cd3644a74d8f661749469f9bea038bc4ec8b40  zstartd.cmd
 5e0a47360b951625883762abfc4c9a9de35241d6277c423894a01119c04a3f82  zsync.cmd
 130a71a17eedcdff72621cfaeb13e7e0ee906c793a3af2c643eecffebc4cd276  zsync.ps1
 0b13c6c8bbca0fbd75d8983121de37091573578ffff58873ac926c2591f8c299  zversion.cmd
-68edfabca7f99822d96da1e5b56d6f9f3a06e46f4786fe28d51b7519aa4ebc4c  zversion.ps1
+16504aab39d2e821e4799e3e19ad8b5d54544af21968eba71cb28e75de1ecf65  zversion.ps1
diff --git a/ZHelpers.ps1 b/ZHelpers.ps1
index 45a55b5..9f3c0a2 100644
--- a/ZHelpers.ps1
+++ b/ZHelpers.ps1
@@ -275,8 +275,8 @@ function Invoke-DeployGitPull {
             # each deploy block the next one - the operator had to commit or
             # stash a change they never made. The guard exists to stop
             # unreviewed SOURCE shipping; a stamp the script just wrote is not
-            # that. It is still committed separately, one bump per PR, per the
-            # versioning rule - this only stops it being a gate.
+            # that. It is still committed separately, one bump per release,
+            # per the versioning rule - this only stops it being a gate.
             $deployWritten = @('build-version.json', 'CHANGELOG.md')
             $dirty = $dirty | Where-Object {
                 $path = ($_ -replace '^..\s+', '') -replace '^.*/', ''
diff --git a/zdeploy.ps1 b/zdeploy.ps1
index 5a68471..1a077a9 100644
--- a/zdeploy.ps1
+++ b/zdeploy.ps1
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ function Wait-VerifyStaticBuild {
     # Expect the COMMITTED stamp, not +1: builds no longer self-bump (a
     # prebuild hook incremented inside the image, so the served version
     # matched no commit and every build dirtied the tree). The counter now
-    # advances deliberately — one version bump per merged PR — so "is the
+    # advances deliberately — one version bump per release — so "is the
     # build I just packed live?" means an exact match.
     $expectedLabel = Get-LabelFromBuildJsonObj $PreZipBuildState
     Write-Host "`n--- [$Key] Live build verification (expect $expectedLabel) ---" -ForegroundColor Cyan
diff --git a/zversion.ps1 b/zversion.ps1
index e68ec56..3a7c49a 100644
--- a/zversion.ps1
+++ b/zversion.ps1
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #
 # Usage:
 #   zversion                     print the current version
-#   zversion bump                build + 1        (one bump per PR / per defect fix)
+#   zversion bump                build + 1        (one bump per release)
 #   zversion bump-stage alpha    alpha + 1, build -> 0
 #   zversion bump-stage beta     beta  + 1, alpha/build -> 0
 #   zversion bump-stage rc       rc    + 1, beta/alpha/build -> 0
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ switch ($Command.ToLowerInvariant().TrimStart('-')) {
         Write-Host ""
         Write-Host "Usage: zversion [get | bump | bump-stage <release|rc|beta|alpha> | set <version>]" -ForegroundColor Yellow
         Write-Host "  Scheme: v{major}.{rc}.{beta}.{alpha}.{build}  (current: $current)" -ForegroundColor Gray
-        Write-Host "  bump        build + 1 - one per PR, one per defect fix" -ForegroundColor Gray
+        Write-Host "  bump        build + 1 - one per release, not one per PR" -ForegroundColor Gray
         Write-Host "  bump-stage  raise a stage; every lower segment resets to 0" -ForegroundColor Gray
         Write-ZTrailer
         exit 1