diff --git a/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py b/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py
index ef825f1..3c4585b 100644
--- a/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py
+++ b/Lib/idlelib/EditorWindow.py
@@ -1271,7 +1271,7 @@
     def _asktabwidth(self):
         return self.askinteger(
             "Tab width",
-            "Spaces per tab? (2-16)",
+            "Columns per tab? (2-16)",
             parent=self.text,
             initialvalue=self.indentwidth,
             minvalue=2,