diff --git a/nvm.sh b/nvm.sh
index b302c5c..428b7cd 100755
--- a/nvm.sh
+++ b/nvm.sh
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ case "$uname" in
   *x86_64*) arch=x64 ;;
 esac
 
+# Use gmake when available to support FreeBSD 
+MAKE_BIN='make'
+command -v gmake >/dev/null 2>&1 && MAKE_BIN='gmake'
+
 # Expand a version using the version cache
 nvm_version()
 {
@@ -219,9 +223,9 @@ nvm()
         tar -xzf "node-$VERSION.tar.gz" && \
         cd "node-$VERSION" && \
         ./configure --prefix="$NVM_DIR/$VERSION" $ADDITIONAL_PARAMETERS && \
-        make && \
+        $MAKE_BIN && \
         rm -f "$NVM_DIR/$VERSION" 2>/dev/null && \
-        make install
+        $MAKE_BIN install
         )
       then
         nvm use $VERSION