A power inverter device which produces a multiple step sinusoidal AC waveform is referred to as a sine wave inverter. To more clearly distinguish the inverters with outputs of much less distortion than the "modified sine wave" (three step) inverter designs, the manufacturers often use the phrase pure sine wave inverter. Almost all consumer grade inverters that are sold as a "pure sine wave inverter" do not produce a smooth sine wave output at all, just a less choppy output than the square wave (one step) and modified sine wave (three step) inverters. In this sense, the phrases "Pure sine wave" or "sine wave inverter" are misleading to the consumer. However, this is not critical for most electronics as they deal with the output quite well.
Where power inverter devices substitute for standard line power, a sine wave output is desirable because many electrical products are engineered to work best with a sine wave AC power source. The standard electric utility power attempts to provide a power source that is a good approximation of a sine wave.