hotline

[hot-lahyn]

noun

hot line.

adjective

Chiefly Canadian. of or relating to a radio program that receives telephone calls from listeners on the air.

Origin of hotline

First recorded in 1950–55; hot + line¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hotline

Contemporary Examples of hotline

Hotline shows you something very moving about watching a teacher patiently explaining a math problem down the phone.
Sex, Suicide, and Homework: The Secret World of the Telephone Hotline
Tim Teeman
November 20, 2014
Roberta Valente, a consultant who works with the Hotline, said laws are struggling to keep up with the changing digital landscape.
Digital Harassment Is the New Means of Domestic Abuse
Keli Goff
February 10, 2014
His hotline settles the question about where shame belongs in religious communities.
Rebel Rabbi Exposes Child Molesters
Moral Courage
January 27, 2014
They have to rely on a hotline to accept calls with tips or claims from other countries.
The Mysterious Case of Maria, Greece’s Fake Roma Child
Barbie Latza Nadeau
October 21, 2013
Calls immediately began increasing at the hotline—and Villegas realized the power of awareness.
Mother of Slain UVA Student Fights Domestic Violence
Caroline Linton
February 21, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for hotline

hotline

noun

a direct telephone, teletype, or other communications link between heads of government, for emergency use
any such direct line kept for urgent use

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012