Wort des Tages
15 May 2026
jaws of life
Emergency 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.
Warum dieses Wort
The dramatic name stuck from public and press use, but crews mostly talk in terms of the actual tools: spreaders, cutters and rams, each doing one job on a hydraulic circuit fed by a pump.
In use
Fire crew brought the jaws of life off the truck and had the door off the hinges before the ambulance finished backing in.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.