diff --git a/src/string.cc b/src/string.cc
index 693cf7d5..9395a26e 100644
--- a/src/string.cc
+++ b/src/string.cc
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 namespace Kakoune
 {
 
+const String String::ms_empty;
+
 Vector<String> split(StringView str, char separator, char escape)
 {
     Vector<String> res;
diff --git a/src/string.hh b/src/string.hh
index 0399f23a..a5fb8ab3 100644
--- a/src/string.hh
+++ b/src/string.hh
@@ -124,6 +124,8 @@ public:
     void resize(ByteCount size) { m_data.resize((size_t)(int)size); }
     void reserve(ByteCount size) { m_data.reserve((size_t)(int)size); }
 
+    static const String ms_empty;
+
 private:
     Content m_data;
 };