Including nucleon-nucleon correlations due to both Fermi statistics and nuc
lear forces, we have developed a general formalism for calculating the char
ged-current neutrino-nucleon absorption rates in nuclear matter. We find th
at at one-half the nuclear density many-body effects alone suppress the rat
es by a factor of 2 and that the suppression factors increased to similar t
o 5 at 4 x 10(14) g cm(-3). The associated increase in the neutrino-matter
mean free paths parallels what we have found for neutral-current interactio
ns and may open up interesting possibilities in the context of the delayed
supernova mechanism and protoneutron star cooling. [S0556-2813(99)05601-0].