diff --git a/jsmn.h b/jsmn.h
index 3178dcc9..5fa0fd98 100644
--- a/jsmn.h
+++ b/jsmn.h
@@ -30,10 +30,12 @@
 extern "C" {
 #endif
 
-#ifdef JSMN_STATIC
-#define JSMN_API static
-#else
-#define JSMN_API extern
+#ifndef JSMN_API
+#  ifdef JSMN_STATIC
+#     define JSMN_API static
+#  else
+#     define JSMN_API extern
+#  endif
 #endif
 
 /**