Meanings
- pluralplural onlyfirefightingEmergency rescue equipment used to open a severely damaged passenger vehicle with a strong mechanical jaw function that forcibly pushes or pulls metal components apart, to quickly and somewhat safely extricate the trapped occupants.
For the most terrible of car accidents, jaws of life have to be used to extricate the injured.
3 more examples
2005, Mary Gordon, Pearl Isn't there some machine used in car wrecks to extricate people called the jaws of life?
The power of the “jaws of life” were shown first and set aside.
2005, Chuck McCann, Short, Shorter and Shorter Stories, Volume 1, page 3882009, Tony Evans, Tony Evan's Book of Illustrations Even when drivers have had wrecks through no one's fault but their own, rescue crews still employ the "jaws of life" to get them out of trouble.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
By analogy with an actual jaw and the fact that this mechanical device allows the possibility of preserving the life of the victim being rescued.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish szczęki życia
- szczęki życiaemergency rescue equipment
Portuguese desencarcerador, abre-latas
- desencarceradoremergency rescue equipment
- abre-latasemergency rescue equipment
Spanish mandíbulas de la vida, quijadas de la vida
- mandíbulas de la vidaemergency rescue equipment
- quijadas de la vidaemergency rescue equipment
Cite this entry
jaws of life. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jaws%20of%20life
“jaws of life.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jaws%20of%20life. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jaws of life,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jaws%20of%20life.
Source: jaws of life on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.