hotline

American  

[hot-lahyn] / ˈhɒtˌlaɪn /

noun

hotlines plural

1. Also hot line a direct telecommunications link enabling immediate communication between heads of state in an international crisis.

   the hotline between Washington and Moscow.

2. Also hot line a telephone service enabling people to talk confidentially with someone about a personal problem or crisis.

   The protective services system is anchored by a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week emergency hotline.

3. Also hot line a telephone line providing customers or clients with direct access to a company or professional service.

   If you need assistance, feel free to chat with us through our online auto parts website or give our hotline a call.

4. Chiefly Canadian. a radio program to which listeners can phone in comments or questions.

   The radio hotline features advice and insight from a range of bank spokespeople during tax season.

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adjective

1. Chiefly Canadian. of or relating to a radio program to which listeners can phone in comments or questions.

hotline British  

/ ˈhɒtˌlaɪn /

noun

1. a direct telephone, teletype, or other communications link between heads of government, for emergency use

2. any such direct line kept for urgent use

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hotlines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hotline

First recorded in 1950–55; hot + line ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hotline hotlines

The DAK health insurance company has set up a hotline on how to deal with the heat.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

The Justice Department also maintains an elder-fraud hotline.

From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026

In an under-reported story, the GI Rights hotline, which helps service members understand their rights to discharge and responds to other concerns, has seen a large increase in calls.

From Salon ● May 3, 2026

You’ve had the Health hotline number on merch, and John will actually answer it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

The office phone’s red like a nuclear hotline and it’s got buttons you push, not the dial you get on normal phones.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The embassy also set up the telephone hotlines to "provide information and assistance to affected families".

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Allianz Partners provides services like travel protection and 24//7 hotlines for other companies that sell to consumers.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Google also said its engineers are continuing to train Gemini to recognize conversations that signal a user in distress and that it would contribute $30 million to global crisis-support hotlines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

As people have begun to print more and more whistles, they’ve also tacked on their own unique touches to the designs: messages of protest, information about immigrants’ rights hotlines, special filament colors.

From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2026

Those programs include setting up hotlines, wellness apps and support groups and training more staff who can support and screen children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2025