From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe jaws of death/defeat/despair etcthe jaws of death/defeat/despair etcliteraryALMOST a situation in which something unpleasant almost happens She had saved him from the jaws of death. → jaw
Examples from the Corpus
the jaws of death/defeat/despair etc• The shocked priority of examining herself after escaping, literally, from the jaws of death, wore off. 