UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. It is defined by percussive, shuffled rhythms with syncopated hi-hats, cymbals, and snares, and may include either 4/4 house kick patterns or more irregular "2-step" rhythms. Garage tracks also commonly feature "chopped up" and time-stretched or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 130 BPM. The genre was influenced by garage house, jungle, Jamaican soundsystem, ragga, dancehall, gospel music, R&B, and rave culture.

UK garage encompassed subgenres such as speed garage and 2-step, and was then largely subsumed into other styles of music and production in the mid-2000s, including bassline, grime, and dubstep. The decline of UK garage during the mid-2000s saw the birth of UK funky, which is closely related. The 2010s saw a resurgence in the genre, then in the early 2020s, a revival of UK garage, sometimes titled "new UK garage" or "NUKG", was widely attributed to London-based producer Conducta and his record label Kiwi Rekords.

UK garage emerged in London in the early 1990s from a blend of New York garage house, jungle, Jamaican ragga and dancehall music, and R&B. It was influenced by the pirate radio scene, rave culture, gospel, Baptist churches, and the Black diaspora. MJ Cole once stated, "London is a multicultural city... it's like a melting pot of young people, and that's reflected in the music of UK garage."

In the United Kingdom, where jungle was very popular at the time, garage was played in a second room at jungle events. After jungle's peak in cultural significance, it turned towards a harsher, more techstep influenced sound, driving away dancers, predominantly women. Escaping the 170bpm jungle basslines, the garage rooms provided a more sensual and soulful sound at 130bpm.

American R&B influences can be heard in early UK garage intended for a commercial, rather than dancefloor, audience. Tracks like "Twentyfourseven" by Artful Dodger, a slower and simpler R&B-infused drum pattern can be heard, in contrast with the complex drum beats, heavy syncopation (swing) and more energetic tempo (normally between 130 and 138 BPM) that usually characterised UKG. Garage producers then proceeded to churn out UK versions of US contemporary R&B hits, such as the Architechs' version of Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine". The Architechs sped-up the vocals through time-stretching and added sound effects to increase the competitive nature. The "B&M Remix" eventually sold twenty thousand copies as a bootleg.

By the late 1980s, the house music played at DJ Larry Levan's New York LGBTQ+ club Paradise Garage was known as "garage house". In 1990, 15-year-old DJ EZ, who was inspired by rave music and New York garage house, began working at pirate radio station Dance FM while still at school in North London.

In 1990, Margaret Thatcher's government increased fines on unlicensed raves, causing the acid house scene to fracture. That same year, the Ministry of Sound opened, running until 9am on Sunday mornings. To provide a venue for revellers who wanted to continue partying, promoter Timmy Ram Jam opened an event at the Elephant and Castle pub across the street, starting at 10am. The DJs played sped-up versions of New York garage house.

Soon, similar after-hours events opened on Sundays, including an event at the nearby Frog & Nightgown, before spreading across London. Larger nightclubs, such as Heaven in Charing Cross, also began to dedicate space to garage DJs.