helo

American  

[hel-oh, hee-loh] / ˈhɛl oʊ, ˈhi loʊ /

noun

Informal.

plural

helos

1. helicopter.

---

Usage

What does helo mean? Helo is a slang term for helicopter. Although the hel part of helicopter is pronounced with a short e (like hell), helo is sometimes pronounced with a long e and a long o: HEE-low. Helo is most often used as military slang. In general, the slang term chopper is more commonly used to refer to a helicopter. Example: Our helo crashed a few clicks back, so we’ve been on foot.

Etymology

Origin of helo

hel(icopter) + -o

Example Sentences

“We have a helo inbound, three point five minutes out,” the camera operator said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2025

“This is a large facility that will house helo pilots and response personnel under one roof to produce reduced response times to the missile complex,” Dammeier said.

From Washington Times • Feb. 20, 2021

“I was a helo pilot overseas, now I’m waitlisted for commercial flight school in Denver. I thought it might fun to be in Aspen for the holidays. Two, maybe three more weeks.”

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2018

You have the helo crash, but you don’t really lose anyone.

From Time • May 6, 2012

On New Year’s Eve, we were able to get in a short helo trip to Mount Sirius, about a 20-minute flight from CTAM, to look at deposits of the Sirius Formation.

From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2011