diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/common/arguments.py b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/common/arguments.py
index 9fa5d589d20..25619f2aa84 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/common/arguments.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/common/arguments.py
@@ -131,4 +131,4 @@ def _specs(self, **kwargs):
 
 _arguments['no_checksum'] = Args(
     '-n', '--no-checksum', action='store_true', default=False,
-    help="do not use checksums to verify downloadeded files (unsafe)")
+    help="do not use checksums to verify downloaded files (unsafe)")