diff --git a/src/window.h b/src/window.h
index d6e33701..70033457 100644
--- a/src/window.h
+++ b/src/window.h
@@ -31,9 +31,10 @@
 #include <vector>
 #include <string>
 
-// this points to nothing, so redefine it
-#undef KEY_BACKSPACE
-#define KEY_BACKSPACE 8
+#ifdef USE_PDCURSES
+# undef KEY_BACKSPACE
+# define KEY_BACKSPACE 8
+#endif // USE_PDCURSES
 
 #ifdef _UTF8
 # define my_char_t wchar_t