Pregaming (also pre-drinking or pre-loading) is the process of getting drunk prior to going out socializing, typically done by college students and young adults in the United States and Europe, in a manner as cost-efficient as possible, with hard liquor and cheap beer consumed while in small groups.

Although pregaming is typically done before a night out, it can also precede other activities, like attending a college football game, large party, social function, or another activity where possession of alcohol may be limited or prohibited. The name "pregaming" spread from the drinking that took place during tailgating before football games to encompass similar drinking periods.

Other terms for the practice are pre-partying, prinking and (in Europe) prefunking.

Alcohol consumption by youth in the United States of America is an umbrella term for alcohol consumption by individuals under the age of 21 in the country.

Although the minimum legal age to purchase alcohol is 21 in all states (see National Minimum Drinking Age Act), the legal details vary greatly. While a few states completely ban alcohol usage for people under 21, the majority have exceptions that permit consumption.

Underage drinking has become an activity primarily done behind closed doors. Typically, underage drinkers hide their alcohol consumption by drinking quickly before they go out, which is often referred to as pregaming or pre-partying. Brittany Levine explained in her article "Pre-Gaming" in USA Today that "of all drinking events involving pre-partying, 80% involved additional drinking afterward." Those who oppose a complete ban on underage drinking argue that it is important that minors be introduced to alcohol in a controlled environment, so that supervision and guidance might occur instead of experimentation. Some parents are willing to provide alcohol for their children if they drink it in a controlled environment. Furnishing alcohol to one's own children is permitted in 31 states, while it's illegal to do so for other people's children in all fifty states. Social host ordinances have been enacted in a number of jurisdictions to attempt to limit the parties where adults may permit minors to drink. Social host laws or ordinances have proliferated in the last ten years because it has been too difficult for law enforcement to prove which adults furnished or served alcohol to minors in their own home, so it permits them to cite or arrest the adult who has control of the premises.

According to Frances M. Harding of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the SAMHSA's goal "is to change social norms".

Pregaming first became popular in the United States in the 1990s, becoming a common practice after Mothers Against Drunk Driving pressured the federal government to coerce states into increasing the legal drinking age in the United States to 21. It is also an unintended consequence of alcohol laws that prohibit happy hours and other discounts on alcohol, as well as rising tuition and other costs for students. Pregaming minimizes the cost of purchasing alcohol at local bars and clubs and can reduce the problems associated with obtaining and using fake identification listing an age permitting legal consumption of alcohol. The high cost of bar tabs in nightlife and the difficult financial situations often faced by students and young adults has been a major factor increasing the rate of pregaming.

Pregaming appeals to persons under 21 years of age who may not otherwise legally enter bars or purchase alcohol in the United States. Pregaming also ensures that the drinker is drunk before going out in public, lessens inhibitions, and can stall the going-on process so that the group enters the local nightlife scene at a more exciting hour.