hotline

noun

hot·​line ˈhät-ˌlīn 

variants or less commonly hot line

plural hotlines also hot lines

1

: a usually toll-free telephone service available to the public or to a group of people for some specific purpose

a suicide prevention hotline

His take reached a total of more than $10,000, but the scam was undone when an alert co-worker noticed it and phoned an employee-theft hotline to report it.

—David J. Solomon

2

: a direct telephone line in constant operational readiness so as to facilitate immediate communication

John Sullivan told the independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta that an emergency hotline between Washington and Moscow, set up in the Cold War … , was still in existence.

—Reuters

When the Milwaukee Bucks made the emotional decision not to take the court for Game 5 of the playoffs, there was a hotline between the locker room and the NBPA [National Basketball Players Association], with [NBPA head Michele] Roberts counselling the players on the other end of that line.

—Don Riddell

Examples of hotline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tips submitted to the hotline may be eligible for a reward of up to $25,000. —Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026

In turn, this prompted Assembly Bill 2122 from 2022 which placed a mental health hotline on the IDs of students in the Cal State, UC and Community College systems. —John Seiler, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026

A week after the mass shooting on West Sixth Street, the city’s response has moved beyond sirens and crime scene tape and into counseling sessions, victim advocates, campus support groups and hotlines for people still trying to make sense of what happened. —Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026

Help for domestic violence in Minnesota is also available 24/7 through the Day One crisis hotline by calling 866-223-1111 or texting 612-399-9995. —Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for hotline

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

Kids Definition

hotline

noun

hot·​line ˈhät-ˌlīn 

: a telephone line for direct emergency use (as between heads of governments or to a counseling service)

Medical Definition

hotline

noun

hot·​line

variants also hot line

ˈhät-ˌlīn 

: a usually toll-free telephone service available to the public for some specific purpose (as to receive advice or information about a particular subject or to talk confidentially about personal problems to a sympathetic listener)

a poison control hotline

suicide prevention hotlines