A cutter is the term for people, who work as part of a mining team and use phasers to split asteroids, so excavators can access the valuable resources inside.
A Starfleet ensign, who shot himself in the foot with a phaser during the Battle of Ajilon Prime in 2373, told Jake Sisko that after his court martial he could become a cutter. (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong")