helpline

noun

help·​line ˈhelp-ˌlīn 

 Southern often  ˈhep-,

 also  ˈheəp-

variants or less commonly help line

plural helplines also help lines

: a phone service providing help or assistance: such as

a

: a telephone service that is usually available to the public and that provides advice, support, resources, etc. for some specific purpose (such as crisis intervention)

a free/confidential/24-hour helpline

He's also a peer support specialist for DeQH, a helpline for South Asian LGBTQ people.

—Rose Brennan

Calls to state addiction help lines have risen, as have alcohol use, drug overdoses and relapse rates, experts have said.

—Steve Janoski

… helpline volunteers offer support and basic information, locate treatment options in your area, and can help you find answers to any questions you may have.

—Radhika Menon

b

: a customer service line to provide support (such as technical support) for a product, service, etc.

Before making your purchase, phone the software vendor's customer helpline to make sure customer representatives are knowledgeable.

—Eric Berg

A user's guide, software documentation, and telephone helpline are included.

—Carol Tenopir

All week, Mata and other staffers have spent hours calling help lines set up by drug plan providers, only to get constant busy signals.

—Nicole Foy

Examples of helpline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In July 2023, Chubb, who also appears in Ted & Noel, completed a two-part report on the issue noting that Compassion in Care's helpline had received 486 reports of such abuse from both whistleblowers and family members thus far — with many more likely going unreported. —Billy McEntee, Them, 24 Feb. 2025

The funding freeze has led Ukrainian NGOs and charities to make cuts including laying off staff and temporarily shutting down suicide helplines and HIV detection projects. —Lou Robinson, CNN, 23 Feb. 2025

Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public When someone seeking housing assistance in central Connecticut calls the state's 211 helpline, they're often directed to Nicole Barracliff. —Abigail Brone, NPR, 22 Feb. 2025

Learn more by contacting the Our Companions Animal Rescue helpline at 860-242-9999 or email [e-mail]. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for helpline

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine