diff --git a/builtin/merge-recursive.c b/builtin/merge-recursive.c
index d8875d589..3d00adbfc 100644
--- a/builtin/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/builtin/merge-recursive.c
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 #include "tag.h"
 #include "merge-recursive.h"
 
+static const char builtin_merge_recursive_usage[] =
+	"git %s <base>... -- <head> <remote> ...";
+
 static const char *better_branch_name(const char *branch)
 {
 	static char githead_env[8 + 40 + 1];
@@ -29,7 +32,7 @@ int cmd_merge_recursive(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		o.subtree_shift = "";
 
 	if (argc < 4)
-		usagef("%s <base>... -- <head> <remote> ...", argv[0]);
+		usagef(builtin_merge_recursive_usage, argv[0]);
 
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
 		const char *arg = argv[i];