diff --git a/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/AntPathMatcher.java b/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/AntPathMatcher.java
index 4dbb91da68d..ec12187a41f 100644
--- a/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/AntPathMatcher.java
+++ b/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/AntPathMatcher.java
@@ -357,6 +357,9 @@ public class AntPathMatcher implements PathMatcher {
 	 * <li><code>/hotels/{hotel}</code></li> <li><code>/hotels/*</code></li> </ol> the returned comparator will sort this
 	 * list so that the order will be as indicated.
 	 *
+	 * <p>The full path given as parameter is used to test for exact matches. So when the given path is {@code /hotels/2},
+	 * the pattern {@code /hotels/2} will be sorted before {@code /hotels/1}.
+	 *
 	 * @param path the full path to use for comparison
 	 * @return a comparator capable of sorting patterns in order of explicitness
 	 */
diff --git a/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/PathMatcher.java b/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/PathMatcher.java
index 244aa884f1a..a51a3b466d5 100644
--- a/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/PathMatcher.java
+++ b/org.springframework.core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/PathMatcher.java
@@ -104,10 +104,10 @@ public interface PathMatcher {
 	Map<String, String> extractUriTemplateVariables(String pattern, String path);
 
 	/**
-	 * Given a full path, returns a {@link Comparator} suitable for sorting patterns in order of explicitness.
+	 * Given a full path, returns a {@link Comparator} suitable for sorting patterns in order of explicitness for that path.
 	 * <p>The full algorithm used depends on the underlying implementation, but generally, the returned
 	 * <code>Comparator</code> will {@linkplain java.util.Collections#sort(java.util.List, java.util.Comparator) sort} a
-	 * list so that more specific patterns come before generic patterns.
+	 * list so that more specific patterns (for that come before generic patterns.
 	 *
 	 * @param path the full path to use for comparison
 	 * @return a comparator capable of sorting patterns in order of explicitness