diff --git a/plotutils/configure.ac b/plotutils/configure.ac
index 01abddd..4b7a988 100644
--- a/plotutils/configure.ac
+++ b/plotutils/configure.ac
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ AC_C_CONST
 AC_TYPE_SIZE_T
 AC_TYPE_PID_T
 AC_TYPE_SIGNAL
+AC_PROG_CXX
 
 # Check whether fflush(NULL) works
 AC_MSG_CHECKING(whether flushing a null FILE pointer works)