throes

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noun

• intense or violent pain and struggle, especially accompanying birth, death, or great change:he convulsed in his death throes

Phrases

in the throes of

in the middle of doing or dealing with something very difficult or painful:a friend was in the throes of a divorce

Origin:

Middle English throwe (singular); perhaps related to Old English thrēa, thrawu 'calamity', influenced by thrōwian 'suffer'

Do not confuse throes with throws. Throes means 'great pain or difficulty' (a country in the throes of a civil war), whereas throws is the present tense of the verb 'to throw' (he throws his stuff into the car) or the plural of the noun throw (three throws of the dice).