diff --git a/lib/hostip.c b/lib/hostip.c
index d89d95255df5e18595fab99b5cbc456afb01f007..89ac57462e8b44a7c3dfe61dad28430e7ff9da3e 100644
--- a/lib/hostip.c
+++ b/lib/hostip.c
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ struct hostent *GetHost(struct UrlData *data,
 {
   struct hostent *h = NULL;
   unsigned long in;
-  int ret;
+  int ret; /* this variable is unused on several platforms but used on some */
 
 #define CURL_NAMELOOKUP_SIZE 9000