diff --git a/cmd/containerd-stress/main.go b/cmd/containerd-stress/main.go
index 5739b0f2de4c5..f8d0d0949ee72 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd-stress/main.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd-stress/main.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/integration/remote"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/pkg/namespaces"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/plugins"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/version"
 	"github.com/containerd/log"
 	metrics "github.com/docker/go-metrics"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli/v2"
@@ -64,10 +65,25 @@ func init() {
 		panic(err)
 	}
 
+	cli.VersionPrinter = func(cliContext *cli.Context) {
+		fmt.Println(cliContext.App.Name, version.Package, cliContext.App.Version)
+	}
+
+	// Override the default flag descriptions for '--version' and '--help'
+	// to align with other flags and start with uppercase.
+	cli.VersionFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
+		Name:    "version",
+		Aliases: []string{"v"},
+		Usage:   "Print the version",
+
+		DisableDefaultText: true,
+	}
 	cli.HelpFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:    "help",
 		Aliases: []string{"h"},
 		Usage:   "Show help",
+
+		DisableDefaultText: true,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -130,6 +146,7 @@ func main() {
 	app := cli.NewApp()
 	app.Name = "containerd-stress"
 	app.Description = "stress test a containerd daemon"
+	app.Version = version.Version
 	app.Flags = []cli.Flag{
 		&cli.BoolFlag{
 			Name:  "debug",
diff --git a/cmd/containerd/command/main.go b/cmd/containerd/command/main.go
index c4d58c1322f72..94d590af2efb7 100644
--- a/cmd/containerd/command/main.go
+++ b/cmd/containerd/command/main.go
@@ -57,15 +57,22 @@ func init() {
 	cli.VersionPrinter = func(cliContext *cli.Context) {
 		fmt.Println(cliContext.App.Name, version.Package, cliContext.App.Version, version.Revision)
 	}
+
+	// Override the default flag descriptions for '--version' and '--help'
+	// to align with other flags and start with uppercase.
 	cli.VersionFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:    "version",
 		Aliases: []string{"v"},
 		Usage:   "Print the version",
+
+		DisableDefaultText: true,
 	}
 	cli.HelpFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:    "help",
 		Aliases: []string{"h"},
 		Usage:   "Show help",
+
+		DisableDefaultText: true,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/ctr/app/main.go b/cmd/ctr/app/main.go
index 13ec27635df57..d03ba9b94a2f9 100644
--- a/cmd/ctr/app/main.go
+++ b/cmd/ctr/app/main.go
@@ -55,15 +55,22 @@ func init() {
 	cli.VersionPrinter = func(cliContext *cli.Context) {
 		fmt.Println(cliContext.App.Name, version.Package, cliContext.App.Version)
 	}
+
+	// Override the default flag descriptions for '--version' and '--help'
+	// to align with other flags and start with uppercase.
 	cli.VersionFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:    "version",
 		Aliases: []string{"v"},
 		Usage:   "Print the version",
+
+		DisableDefaultText: true,
 	}
 	cli.HelpFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:    "help",
 		Aliases: []string{"h"},
 		Usage:   "Show help",
+
+		DisableDefaultText: true,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/shim/shim.go b/pkg/shim/shim.go
index cc8da6f765478..2f93203c8f7dc 100644
--- a/pkg/shim/shim.go
+++ b/pkg/shim/shim.go
@@ -139,7 +139,12 @@ const (
 
 func parseFlags() {
 	flag.BoolVar(&debugFlag, "debug", false, "enable debug output in logs")
-	flag.BoolVar(&versionFlag, "v", false, "show the shim version and exit")
+
+	// short + long form. omitting the usage (description) of the short-form
+	// to group it with the long form.
+	flag.BoolVar(&versionFlag, "v", false, "")
+	flag.BoolVar(&versionFlag, "version", false, "show the shim version and exit")
+
 	// "info" is not a subcommand, because old shims produce very confusing errors for unknown subcommands
 	// https://github.com/containerd/containerd/pull/8509#discussion_r1210021403
 	flag.BoolVar(&infoFlag, "info", false, "get the option protobuf from stdin, print the shim info protobuf to stdout, and exit")