A standalone "DC dimmer" designed for constant-voltage LED loads (for example 12V LED tape), if that's what you're talking about, is just PWM. Its functional circuit blocks would include some sort of PWM signal generator (maybe a 555, maybe an MCU) and a transistor, that's about it. If you added a second transistor or a diode (which might already be present if the dimmer was also designed for inductive loads like motors), an output inductor, and some feedback, then you'd have a buck converter.
There are also dimmable LED drivers in both constant current and constant voltage mode variations that I suppose you could refer to as a 'DC dimmer'. One of those that operates from a DC input might be a buck converter, but ones that operate off of AC line voltage likely use a different topology.