Dimethyl ether (DME; also known as methoxymethane) is the organic compound with the formula CH₃OCH₃, (sometimes ambiguously simplified to C₂H₆O as it is an isomer of ethanol). The simplest ether, it is a colorless gas that is a useful precursor to other organic compounds and an aerosol propellant that is currently being demonstrated for use in a variety of fuel applications.

Dimethyl ether was first synthesised by Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Péligot in 1835 by distillation of methanol and sulfuric acid.^[5]

Approximately 50,000 tons were produced in 1985 in Western Europe by dehydration of methanol:^[6]