What is the gravitational force that attracts an object to the Earth commonly referred to?

The gravitational force that attracts an object to the Earth is commonly referred to as weight. Weight is specifically defined as the force exerted on a mass due to gravity. This force can vary depending on the strength of the gravitational field in which the object is located; however, on Earth, weight is the measure of how strongly gravity pulls on that object. It is calculated as the product of the mass of the object and the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.81 m/s² on Earth). The term "mass" refers to the amount of matter contained in an object and does not change regardless of location, whereas weight is a force that depends on the local gravitational pull.

While the term "gravity" represents the fundamental force itself that causes the attraction, it is the interaction of that force with an object's mass that results in weight. "Force," in a general sense, could refer to any type of force in physics, but in this specific context, it does not capture the unique characteristic of gravitational attraction that is pertinent to weight.