diff --git a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
index b734cce5d41..e906d5185c1 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@ usage(void)
 	printf(_("  -Z, --compress=none    do not compress tar output\n"));
 	printf(_("\nGeneral options:\n"));
 	printf(_("  -c, --checkpoint=fast|spread\n"
-			 "                         set fast or spread checkpointing\n"));
+			 "                         set fast or spread (default) checkpointing\n"));
 	printf(_("  -C, --create-slot      create replication slot\n"));
 	printf(_("  -l, --label=LABEL      set backup label\n"));
 	printf(_("  -n, --no-clean         do not clean up after errors\n"));