diff --git a/lib/irb/pager.rb b/lib/irb/pager.rb
index d50348786..3391b32c6 100644
--- a/lib/irb/pager.rb
+++ b/lib/irb/pager.rb
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def page(retain_content: false)
       private
 
       def should_page?
-        IRB.conf[:USE_PAGER] && STDIN.tty? && ENV["TERM"] != "dumb"
+        IRB.conf[:USE_PAGER] && STDIN.tty? && (ENV.key?("TERM") && ENV["TERM"] != "dumb")
       end
 
       def content_exceeds_screen_height?(content)