diff --git a/cpp/cmake_modules/DefineOptions.cmake b/cpp/cmake_modules/DefineOptions.cmake
index 6e6a74c9c78f8..c67ec15b54d0c 100644
--- a/cpp/cmake_modules/DefineOptions.cmake
+++ b/cpp/cmake_modules/DefineOptions.cmake
@@ -747,7 +747,7 @@ if(NOT ARROW_GIT_ID)
                   OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
 endif()
 if(NOT ARROW_GIT_DESCRIPTION)
-  execute_process(COMMAND "git" "describe" "--tags" "--dirty"
+  execute_process(COMMAND "git" "describe" "--tags"
                   WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
                   ERROR_QUIET
                   OUTPUT_VARIABLE ARROW_GIT_DESCRIPTION