diff --git a/backoff/_decorator.py b/backoff/_decorator.py
index 77ed8c2..6b4488a 100644
--- a/backoff/_decorator.py
+++ b/backoff/_decorator.py
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ def on_exception(wait_gen: _WaitGenerator,
             The default value of None means there is no limit to the
             number of tries. If a callable is passed, it will be
             evaluated at runtime and its return value used.
-        max_time: The maximum total amount of time to try for before
+        max_time: The maximum total amount of seconds to try for before
             giving up. Once expired, the exception will be allowed to
             escape. If a callable is passed, it will be
             evaluated at runtime and its return value used.