diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/man-db/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/man-db/default.nix
index 21ce52894861..9724278b6087 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/man-db/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/man-db/default.nix
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ pkgconfig ];
   buildInputs = [ libpipeline db groff ];
+  troff="${groff}/bin/groff";
 
   configureFlags = [
     "--disable-setuid"