The phrase "defend herself by" is grammatically correct and can be used in written English
It is typically used when describing someone's actions in protecting or justifying themselves. Example: Despite the accusations, she was able to defend herself by presenting evidence that proved her innocence.
"A criminal defendant has standing to defend herself by arguing that the statute under which she is being prosecuted was beyond Congress's Article I authority to enact," Acting Solicitor General Neal K. Katyal told the justices.
Martínez Pérez unsuccessfully tried to defend herself by grabbing a kitchen knife and stabbing one of the attackers in the forearm, but they managed to outweigh her because she only weighed 108 lbs (48.9 kg).
When the woman tried to defend herself by biting Trudeau's finger, he allegedly retaliated by biting off her ear, and spitting it out in front of her, KARE TV reports.
She was defending herself by beating and biting them".
Last night, Ms Dorries defended herself by posting a series of messages on Twitter.
Even Princess Diana succumbed, although she is reported to have defended herself by saying "There's a loʔ of iʔ abouʔ".
Ms. Caprario did not dispute the slap, but defended herself by saying that Dr. London had repeatedly breached her "personal space".
She also defended herself by emphasizing that she had planned to recommend a sentence of six months at a low-security prison in exchange for his guilty plea.
Mrs. Clinton defended herself by saying, "None of the emails sent or received by me had such a header" marking them as classified.
But in an interview with Solicitors Journal on Wednesday, Lady Hale defended herself by insisting she had simply offered a neutral explanation of the issues at stake.
But in conversations with associates, she has defended herself by noting that she had positioned a staff member to greet guests at the East Portico landing just as the Social Office had sometimes done in the past.
