diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 806f625d..45d27226 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -443,7 +443,7 @@ if(${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} STREQUAL "Darwin" OR IOS)
 endif()
 if(${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} STREQUAL "Windows")
   if(MDBX_NTDLL_EXTRA_IMPLIB)
-    add_mdbx_option(MDBX_AVOID_CRT "Avoid dependence from MSVC CRT and use ntdll.dll instead" OFF)
+    add_mdbx_option(MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT "Avoid dependence from MSVC CRT and use ntdll.dll instead" OFF)
   endif()
   add_mdbx_option(MDBX_CONFIG_MANUAL_TLS_CALLBACK
     "Provide mdbx_dll_handler() for manual initialization" OFF)
@@ -478,7 +478,7 @@ if(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LOADED AND MDBX_CXX_STANDARD GREATER_EQUAL 11 AND MDBX_CXX
   if(NOT MDBX_AMALGAMATED_SOURCE)
     option(MDBX_ENABLE_TESTS "Build MDBX tests" ${BUILD_TESTING})
   endif()
-  if(NOT MDBX_AVOID_CRT
+  if(NOT MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT
       AND NOT (CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX AND CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_VERSION VERSION_LESS 4.8)
       AND NOT (CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_CLANG AND CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_VERSION VERSION_LESS 4)
       AND NOT (MSVC AND MSVC_VERSION LESS 1900))
@@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ macro(libmdbx_setup_libs TARGET MODE)
   target_link_libraries(${TARGET} ${MODE} Threads::Threads)
   if(${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} STREQUAL "Windows")
     target_link_libraries(${TARGET} ${MODE} ntdll.lib)
-    if(MDBX_NTDLL_EXTRA_IMPLIB AND MDBX_AVOID_CRT)
+    if(MDBX_NTDLL_EXTRA_IMPLIB AND MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT)
       target_link_libraries(${TARGET} ${MODE} ntdll_extra)
     endif()
   elseif(${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} STREQUAL "SunOS" OR ${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} STREQUAL "Solaris")
@@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ if(MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY)
   target_setup_options(mdbx)
   libmdbx_setup_libs(mdbx PRIVATE)
   if(MSVC)
-    if(MDBX_NTDLL_EXTRA_IMPLIB AND MDBX_AVOID_CRT)
+    if(MDBX_NTDLL_EXTRA_IMPLIB AND MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT)
       set_property(TARGET mdbx PROPERTY LINKER_FLAGS "/NODEFAULTLIB")
     else()
       set_property(TARGET mdbx PROPERTY MSVC_RUNTIME_LIBRARY "MultiThreaded$<$<CONFIG:Debug>:Debug>DLL")
diff --git a/ChangeLog.md b/ChangeLog.md
index e84892fd..6389e0e5 100644
--- a/ChangeLog.md
+++ b/ChangeLog.md
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ New features:
  - Added `MDBX_ENABLE_MADVISE` build option which controls the use of POSIX `madvise()` hints and friends.
  - The internal node sizes were refined, resulting in a reduction in large/overflow pages in some use cases and a slight increase in limits for a keys size.
 
+Backward compatibility break:
+
+ - The `MDBX_AVOID_CRT` build option was renamed to `MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT`.
+
 Fixes:
 
  - Fixed performance regression due non-optimal C11 atomics usage (https://github.com/erthink/libmdbx/issues/160).
@@ -88,7 +92,7 @@ New features:
 Fixes:
 
  - Fixed missing cleanup (null assigned) in the C++ commit/abort (https://github.com/erthink/libmdbx/pull/143).
- - Fixed `mdbx_realloc()` for case of nullptr and `MDBX_AVOID_CRT=ON` for Windows.
+ - Fixed `mdbx_realloc()` for case of nullptr and `MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT=ON` for Windows.
  - Fixed the possibility to use invalid and renewed (closed & re-opened, dropped & re-created) DBI-handles (https://github.com/erthink/libmdbx/issues/146).
  - Fixed 4-byte aligned access to 64-bit integers, including access to the `bootid` meta-page's field (https://github.com/erthink/libmdbx/issues/153).
  - Fixed minor/potential memory leak during page flushing and unspilling.
@@ -245,7 +249,7 @@ Deprecated functions and flags:
 - Fix missing comma in array of error messages.
 - Fix div-by-zero while copy-with-compaction for non-resizable environments.
 - Fixes & enhancements for custom-comparators.
-- Fix `MDBX_AVOID_CRT` option and missing `ntdll.def`.
+- Fix `MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT` option and missing `ntdll.def`.
 - Fix `mdbx_env_close()` to work correctly called concurrently from several threads.
 - Fix null-deref in an ASAN-enabled builds while opening the environment with error and/or read-only.
 - Fix AddressSanitizer errors after closing the environment.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 52fc7e8a..69784009 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ CMakeLists.txt or Makefile respectively.
 
 It should be noted that in _libmdbx_ was efforts to resolve
 runtime dependencies from CRT and other libraries Visual Studio.
-For this is enough to define the `MDBX_AVOID_CRT` during build.
+For this is enough to define the `MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT` during build.
 
 An example of running a basic test script can be found in the
 [CI-script](appveyor.yml) for [AppVeyor](https://www.appveyor.com/). To
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index 54c0bc7d..fa151fab 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -9,22 +9,22 @@ environment:
       CMAKE_GENERATOR: Visual Studio 16 2019
       TOOLSET: 142
       MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY: OFF
-      MDBX_AVOID_CRT: OFF
+      MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT: OFF
     - APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Visual Studio 2019
       CMAKE_GENERATOR: Visual Studio 16 2019
       TOOLSET: 142
       MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY: ON
-      MDBX_AVOID_CRT: ON
+      MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT: ON
     - APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Visual Studio 2019
       CMAKE_GENERATOR: Visual Studio 16 2019
       TOOLSET: 142
       MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY: OFF
-      MDBX_AVOID_CRT: ON
+      MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT: ON
     - APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Visual Studio 2019
       CMAKE_GENERATOR: Visual Studio 16 2019
       TOOLSET: 142
       MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY: ON
-      MDBX_AVOID_CRT: OFF
+      MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT: OFF
     - APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Visual Studio 2017
       CMAKE_GENERATOR: Visual Studio 15 2017
       TOOLSET: 141
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ build_script:
     Write-Output "Configuration: $env:CONFIGURATION"
     Write-Output "Platform: $env:PLATFORM"
     Write-Output "Toolchain: $env:CMAKE_GENERATOR v$env:TOOLSET"
-    Write-Output "Options: MDBX_AVOID_CRT=$env:MDBX_AVOID_CRT MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY=$env:MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY"
+    Write-Output "Options: MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT=$env:MDBX_AVOID_CRT MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY=$env:MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY"
     Write-Output "*******************************************************************************"
 
     md _build -Force | Out-Null
@@ -80,9 +80,9 @@ build_script:
         if ($env:PLATFORM -eq "x64") {
             $generator = "$generator Win64"
         }
-        & cmake -G "$generator" -D CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES="Debug;Release;RelWithDebInfo" -D MDBX_AVOID_CRT:BOOL=$env:MDBX_AVOID_CRT -D MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY:BOOL=$env:MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY ..
+        & cmake -G "$generator" -D CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES="Debug;Release;RelWithDebInfo" -D MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT:BOOL=$env:MDBX_AVOID_CRT -D MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY:BOOL=$env:MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY ..
     } else {
-        & cmake -G "$generator" -A $env:PLATFORM -D CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES="Debug;Release;RelWithDebInfo" -DMDBX_AVOID_CRT:BOOL=$env:MDBX_AVOID_CRT -D MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY:BOOL=$env:MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY ..
+        & cmake -G "$generator" -A $env:PLATFORM -D CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES="Debug;Release;RelWithDebInfo" -DMDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT:BOOL=$env:MDBX_AVOID_CRT -D MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY:BOOL=$env:MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY ..
     }
     if ($LastExitCode -ne 0) {
         throw "Exec: $ErrorMessage"
diff --git a/mdbx.h++ b/mdbx.h++
index 55e3d99d..32f9ccd3 100644
--- a/mdbx.h++
+++ b/mdbx.h++
@@ -21,8 +21,9 @@
 #error "C++11 or better is required"
 #endif
 
-#if (defined(_WIN32) || defined(_WIN64)) && MDBX_AVOID_CRT
-#error "CRT is required for C++ API, the MDBX_AVOID_CRT option must be disabled"
+#if (defined(_WIN32) || defined(_WIN64)) && MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT
+#error                                                                         \
+    "CRT is required for C++ API, the MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT option must be disabled"
 #endif /* Windows */
 
 #ifndef __has_include
diff --git a/src/config.h.in b/src/config.h.in
index 512fe2c3..1c90d9ed 100644
--- a/src/config.h.in
+++ b/src/config.h.in
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 
 /* Windows */
 #cmakedefine01 MDBX_CONFIG_MANUAL_TLS_CALLBACK
-#cmakedefine01 MDBX_AVOID_CRT
+#cmakedefine01 MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT
 
 /* MacOS & iOS */
 #cmakedefine01 MDBX_OSX_SPEED_INSTEADOF_DURABILITY
diff --git a/src/core.c b/src/core.c
index fcf5927c..ad0ef8a0 100644
--- a/src/core.c
+++ b/src/core.c
@@ -21975,7 +21975,7 @@ __dll_export
     " MDBX_OSX_SPEED_INSTEADOF_DURABILITY=" STRINGIFY(MDBX_OSX_SPEED_INSTEADOF_DURABILITY)
 #endif /* MacOS */
 #if defined(_WIN32) || defined(_WIN64)
-    " MDBX_AVOID_CRT=" STRINGIFY(MDBX_AVOID_CRT)
+    " MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT=" STRINGIFY(MDBX_AVOID_CRT)
     " MDBX_CONFIG_MANUAL_TLS_CALLBACK=" STRINGIFY(MDBX_CONFIG_MANUAL_TLS_CALLBACK)
     " MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY=" STRINGIFY(MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY)
     " WINVER=" STRINGIFY(WINVER)
diff --git a/src/lck-windows.c b/src/lck-windows.c
index 6bf16a36..16580bfd 100644
--- a/src/lck-windows.c
+++ b/src/lck-windows.c
@@ -25,15 +25,15 @@
 static void mdbx_winnt_import(void);
 
 #if MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY
-#if MDBX_AVOID_CRT && defined(NDEBUG)
+#if MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT && defined(NDEBUG)
 /* DEBUG/CHECKED builds still require MSVC's CRT for runtime checks.
  *
  * Define dll's entry point only for Release build when NDEBUG is defined and
- * MDBX_AVOID_CRT=ON. if the entry point isn't defined then MSVC's will
+ * MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT=ON. if the entry point isn't defined then MSVC's will
  * automatically use DllMainCRTStartup() from CRT library, which also
  * automatically call DllMain() from our mdbx.dll */
 #pragma comment(linker, "/ENTRY:DllMain")
-#endif /* MDBX_AVOID_CRT */
+#endif /* MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT */
 
 BOOL APIENTRY DllMain(HANDLE module, DWORD reason, LPVOID reserved)
 #else
diff --git a/src/osal.h b/src/osal.h
index fa40454f..95ed42b2 100644
--- a/src/osal.h
+++ b/src/osal.h
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 #define _CRT_SECURE_NO_WARNINGS
 #endif
 #if !defined(_NO_CRT_STDIO_INLINE) && MDBX_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY &&             \
-    !defined(MDBX_TOOLS) && MDBX_AVOID_CRT
+    !defined(MDBX_TOOLS) && MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT
 #define _NO_CRT_STDIO_INLINE
 #endif
 #elif !defined(_POSIX_C_SOURCE)
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ typedef struct {
 } mdbx_condpair_t;
 typedef CRITICAL_SECTION mdbx_fastmutex_t;
 
-#if MDBX_AVOID_CRT
+#if MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT
 #ifndef mdbx_malloc
 static inline void *mdbx_malloc(size_t bytes) {
   return LocalAlloc(LMEM_FIXED, bytes);
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ static inline void *mdbx_realloc(void *ptr, size_t bytes) {
 #define mdbx_realloc realloc
 #define mdbx_free free
 #define mdbx_strdup _strdup
-#endif /* MDBX_AVOID_CRT */
+#endif /* MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT */
 
 #ifndef snprintf
 #define snprintf _snprintf /* ntdll */
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ typedef pthread_mutex_t mdbx_fastmutex_t;
 /* malloc_usable_size() already provided */
 #elif defined(__APPLE__)
 #define malloc_usable_size(ptr) malloc_size(ptr)
-#elif defined(_MSC_VER) && !MDBX_AVOID_CRT
+#elif defined(_MSC_VER) && !MDBX_WITHOUT_MSVC_CRT
 #define malloc_usable_size(ptr) _msize(ptr)
 #endif /* malloc_usable_size */