diff --git a/package/bc/bc.mk b/package/bc/bc.mk
index 3f1f7e7f17..293b80d9fd 100644
--- a/package/bc/bc.mk
+++ b/package/bc/bc.mk
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 BC_VERSION = 1.06
 BC_SITE = $(BR2_GNU_MIRROR)/bc/
+BC_DEPENDENCIES = host-flex
 BC_LICENSE = GPLv2+ LGPLv2.1+
 BC_LICENSE_FILES = COPYING COPYING.LIB