helpline

noun

help·​line ˈhelp-ˌlīn 

 Southern often  ˈhep-,

 also  ˈheəp-

variants or less commonly help line

plural helplines also help lines

: a phone service providing help or assistance: such as

a

: a telephone service that is usually available to the public and that provides advice, support, resources, etc. for some specific purpose (such as crisis intervention)

a free/confidential/24-hour helpline

He's also a peer support specialist for DeQH, a helpline for South Asian LGBTQ people.

—Rose Brennan

Calls to state addiction help lines have risen, as have alcohol use, drug overdoses and relapse rates, experts have said.

—Steve Janoski

… helpline volunteers offer support and basic information, locate treatment options in your area, and can help you find answers to any questions you may have.

—Radhika Menon

b

: a customer service line to provide support (such as technical support) for a product, service, etc.

Before making your purchase, phone the software vendor's customer helpline to make sure customer representatives are knowledgeable.

—Eric Berg

A user's guide, software documentation, and telephone helpline are included.

—Carol Tenopir

All week, Mata and other staffers have spent hours calling help lines set up by drug plan providers, only to get constant busy signals.

—Nicole Foy

Examples of helpline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The chatbots should also be trained to avoid sharing information regarding suicide or self-harm and redirect users engaging in such conversations to crisis management helplines. —PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2025

Government and nonprofit organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom have multiple resources for mental health support, such as specialized helplines and treatment locators. —Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025

The Medigap helpline, at 1-800-242-1060, provides guidance on Medicare and is run by the Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long-Term Care. —Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 8 Oct. 2025

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has been running the helpline since 2022, leasing it for $150,000 annually from the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ), which had previously operated it since 1983. —Contessa Brewer, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for helpline

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine