diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 235609db5c..61e15cc554 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ time = find_program('time', dirs: program_path, required: get_option('benchmarks
 # "/bin/sh" over a PATH-based lookup, which provides a working shell on most
 # supported systems. This path is also the default shell path used by our
 # Makefile. This lookup can be overridden via `program_path`.
-target_shell = find_program('sh', dirs: program_path + [ '/bin' ], native: false)
+target_shell = find_program('/bin/sh', 'sh', dirs: program_path, native: false)
 
 # Sanity-check that programs required for the build exist.
 foreach tool : ['cat', 'cut', 'grep', 'sort', 'tr', 'uname']