diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d7826b67d9..6eca3c9ec6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -215,7 +215,8 @@ BR_GRAPH_OUT := $(or $(BR2_GRAPH_OUT),pdf)
 
 BUILD_DIR := $(BASE_DIR)/build
 BINARIES_DIR := $(BASE_DIR)/images
-TARGET_DIR := $(BASE_DIR)/target
+BASE_TARGET_DIR := $(BASE_DIR)/target
+TARGET_DIR = $(BASE_TARGET_DIR)
 # initial definition so that 'make clean' works for most users, even without
 # .config. HOST_DIR will be overwritten later when .config is included.
 HOST_DIR := $(BASE_DIR)/host
@@ -456,7 +457,7 @@ BR_PATH = "$(HOST_DIR)/bin:$(HOST_DIR)/sbin:$(PATH)"
 
 # Location of a file giving a big fat warning that output/target
 # should not be used as the root filesystem.
-TARGET_DIR_WARNING_FILE = $(TARGET_DIR)/THIS_IS_NOT_YOUR_ROOT_FILESYSTEM
+TARGET_DIR_WARNING_FILE = $(BASE_TARGET_DIR)/THIS_IS_NOT_YOUR_ROOT_FILESYSTEM
 
 ifeq ($(BR2_CCACHE),y)
 CCACHE := $(HOST_DIR)/bin/ccache
@@ -553,7 +554,7 @@ $(foreach pkg,$(call UPPERCASE,$(PACKAGES)),\
 endif
 
 .PHONY: dirs
-dirs: $(BUILD_DIR) $(STAGING_DIR) $(TARGET_DIR) \
+dirs: $(BUILD_DIR) $(STAGING_DIR) $(BASE_TARGET_DIR) \
 	$(HOST_DIR) $(HOST_DIR_SYMLINK) $(BINARIES_DIR)
 
 $(BUILD_DIR)/buildroot-config/auto.conf: $(BR2_CONFIG)
@@ -974,7 +975,7 @@ printvars:
 
 .PHONY: clean
 clean:
-	rm -rf $(TARGET_DIR) $(BINARIES_DIR) $(HOST_DIR) $(HOST_DIR_SYMLINK) \
+	rm -rf $(BASE_TARGET_DIR) $(BINARIES_DIR) $(HOST_DIR) $(HOST_DIR_SYMLINK) \
 		$(BUILD_DIR) $(BASE_DIR)/staging \
 		$(LEGAL_INFO_DIR) $(GRAPHS_DIR)