diff --git a/lib/yard/rake/yardoc_task.rb b/lib/yard/rake/yardoc_task.rb
index a1597f5f9..136df2a4f 100644
--- a/lib/yard/rake/yardoc_task.rb
+++ b/lib/yard/rake/yardoc_task.rb
@@ -68,6 +68,8 @@ def initialize(name = :yard)
       def define
         desc "Generate YARD Documentation" unless ::Rake.application.last_description
         task(name) do
+          require File.expand_path('../../yard', __dir__)
+
           before.call if before.is_a?(Proc)
           yardoc = YARD::CLI::Yardoc.new
           yardoc.options[:verifier] = verifier if verifier