helpline

IPA/ˈhelplaɪn/
IPA/ˈhelplaɪn/

helpline — noun

  • helplinesingular
  • helplinesplural

1. a phone number that people can call to get advice, comfort, or factual answers a

1.nounB2
Definition

a phone number that people can call to get advice, comfort, or factual answers about a specific topic, often run by a charity or government office for free.

Example

Rafael called the mental health helpline after his sister was hospitalised for depression.

call + helpline (most common verb)

The city set up a free helpline for parents struggling to find school places.

set up + helpline (founding pattern)

Common collocations
  • free helpline
  • 24-hour helpline
  • national helpline
  • confidential helpline
  • dedicated helpline
Synonyms
  • hotline

    stronger urgency, often crisis or emergency

  • support line

    broader; emphasises ongoing support over a single call

  • crisis line

    narrower; specifically for acute mental-health or suicide risk

Grammar Patterns

call a helpline

set up a helpline

Usage Note

Almost always modified by the topic the line covers (e.g. mental-health helpline, tax helpline, parenting helpline). Usually free or low-cost to the caller.

Common Mistakes

I called a helpline of the bank for my lost card.
I called the bank's helpline for my lost card.
use a possessive or compound (X's helpline / X helpline), not 'a helpline of X'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a phone number set up to handle one kind of inquiry, but the tone differs sharply. Helpline is the everyday neutral choice — a charity or government office runs it and callers get advice on a defined topic, often for free. Hotline carries more urgency and was originally a direct emergency channel; today it still implies immediate action, like a fraud hotline or a tip-off hotline for police. Support line stresses emotional or practical backing over time, so cancer support line fits but a tax support line sounds odd. Crisis line is the narrowest, reserved for acute risk such as suicide or domestic violence. Compare: a parent might call a parenting helpline for routine sleep advice, but a suicide crisis line in an emergency.

helpline ↗hotline ↗support linecrisis line

Common collocations

Nouns

  • helpline number
  • helpline operator
  • helpline volunteer
  • helpline staff

Phrases

  • call the helpline
  • ring the helpline
  • man the helpline
  • staff the helpline

Prepositions

  • on a helpline
  • to a helpline
  • via the helpline

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

A 20th-century compound formed by joining help (Old English helpan, to give aid) with line in its telephone sense (a phone connection). Came into common British and American use in the 1970s as charities and government agencies began running free advice numbers for specific issues such as alcoholism and child abuse.