988

[ nahyn-eyt-eyt ]

1. (in the United States) the telephone number for a mental health crisis hotline staffed by licensed counselors and other staff trained in suicide prevention.

Word History and Origins

Origin of 988¹

First recorded in 2022

Example Sentences

There were 1,451 allegations, up by 1%, with 72 about an actual or attempted assault, 391 about actual or attempted physical contact and 988 relating to threatening a match official.

From BBC

The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors.

From Los Angeles Times

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

From Los Angeles Times

In comparison, the bottom 38 judges of our pool, or roughly half of the pool, have a total of 988 outside-circuit citations combined.

From Slate

Among 28 programs examined at Dominguez Hills, 23 delivered earnings high enough to recoup the cost of the degree in a year or less — including registered nursing at $122,899, business at $61,910 and teacher education at $43,988.

From Los Angeles Times