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
David J. Solomon2
: 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
Reuters.comWhen 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
Don RiddellExamples of hotline in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
—Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
He’s brought the car to raise awareness of the 988 national crisis hotline and end the stigma associated with talking about mental health.
—Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
Call a hotline and land a $100,000 reward: 1-888-CANT-HIDE.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Individual states often have their own domestic violence hotlines as well.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The organization's annual audit also pointed to individuals who allegedly contacted law enforcement and crisis hotlines with false claims, resulting in at least 66 instances of what's known as swatting at Jewish institutions last summer.
—Rachel Barber, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024
The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Apr. 2024
The same report outlined how a 70% drop in federal funding in 2024 would stress shelters in staying open, keeping hotlines staffed and having advocates available to help victims.
—Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2024
Between the spring and the summer of 2020, the 311 hotline was flooded with complaints about trash, from all five boroughs.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2024
He’s brought the car to raise awareness of the 988 national crisis hotline and end the stigma associated with talking about mental health.
—Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
Call a hotline and land a $100,000 reward: 1-888-CANT-HIDE.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Individual states often have their own domestic violence hotlines as well.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The organization's annual audit also pointed to individuals who allegedly contacted law enforcement and crisis hotlines with false claims, resulting in at least 66 instances of what's known as swatting at Jewish institutions last summer.
—Rachel Barber, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024
The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Apr. 2024
The same report outlined how a 70% drop in federal funding in 2024 would stress shelters in staying open, keeping hotlines staffed and having advocates available to help victims.
—Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2024
Between the spring and the summer of 2020, the 311 hotline was flooded with complaints about trash, from all five boroughs.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near hotline
Cite this Entry
“Hotline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hotline. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
: 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share