What does what part of speech is reputation mean?

The question "What part of speech is reputation?" is asking what grammatical category the word "reputation" belongs to.

Here's the answer:

Reputation is a noun.

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. "Reputation" refers to the general opinion that people have about someone or something.

Let's see how it works in a sentence:

* The company has a reputation for quality. (Here, "reputation" is the subject of the sentence.)

* He worked hard to build a good reputation. (Here, "reputation" is the object of the verb "build".)