hotline

noun

hot·​line ˈhät-ˌlīn How to pronounce hotline (audio)
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.com
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 The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024 The city’s child welfare agency, the Administration for Children’s Services, said that anyone who sees a child in a situation that seems unsafe can call the state child abuse hotline. Andy Newman, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 The best resource for tracking the springtime show is the Theodore Payne Wildflower hotline, which started up last week and will be updated through June. Michael Charboneau, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Similarly, the Rainbow Youth Project, a nonprofit that offers crisis response and counseling to at-risk LGBTQ+ youth, saw calls to its hotline rise from an average of about 1,000 per month in 2022 to just over 1,400 per month last year. John D. Harden, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 Our team prioritized online casinos with a 24/7 chat feature, dedicated phone number, and email hotline. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 The Women’s Center in Waukesha has a 24-hour hotline at (262) 542-3828. Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2024 Anyone who has seen Paine or knows of his whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County hotline at 785-843-8477. Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2024 There are upsides to the corporate touch: Large corporations are more likely to operate 24/7 property management hotlines and have plumbers and electricians on retainer. Calmatters, Orange County Register, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hotline.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of hotline was in 1954

Dictionary Entries Near hotline

Cite this Entry

“Hotline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hotline. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hotline

noun
hot·​line ˈhät-ˌlīn How to pronounce hotline (audio)
: 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
: 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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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