diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 339f355b318f0f3ea0bed783b0ba874110a26d0c..61ac4b9eee4d941e36cb058fd37d05f4a27fa674 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ minor differences can cause unintended consequences.
 
 PATCH SUBMISSION
 ----------------
-An entry in `NEWS` should descripe the change or new functionality.
+An entry in `NEWS` should describe the change or new functionality.
 
 Please break patches up into logically separate chunks, while ensuring that
 each patch can still be compiled. (Anticipate that a developer using `git