diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
index fb04d917720f..d1fcb7da9aa5 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
@@ -3188,7 +3188,7 @@ def grid(self, visible=None, which='major', axis='both', **kwargs):
         if axis in ['y', 'both']:
             self.yaxis.grid(visible, which=which, **kwargs)
 
-    def ticklabel_format(self, *, axis='both', style='', scilimits=None,
+    def ticklabel_format(self, *, axis='both', style=None, scilimits=None,
                          useOffset=None, useLocale=None, useMathText=None):
         r"""
         Configure the `.ScalarFormatter` used by default for linear Axes.