Shrewsbury, town, Worcester County, central Massachusetts, on Lake Quinsigamond, near Worcester; incorporated 1727. It is chiefly residential and has industries producing plastic goods, chemicals, and confections. The homestead of Artemas Ward, a general in the American Revolution, and the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology are here. The community, settled about 1722, is named for Shrewsbury, England. Population 22,674 (1980); 24,146 (1990).