The most common diminutives are formed with the prefix mini- and with suffixes such as -let and -y. Let us is used in all varieties of speech and writing to introduce a suggestion or a request: Let us consider all the facts before deciding.
The contracted form let's occurs mostly in informal speech and. Didn't let up in their efforts. -let is attached to a noun to form a noun that is a smaller version of the original noun or root:
Book + -let → booklet (= a smaller book); Pig + -let → piglet (= a smaller pig). You say let's or, in formal english, let us, when you are making a suggestion that involves both you and the person you are talking to, or when you are agreeing to a suggestion of this kind.
Definition of let verb in oxford advanced american dictionary. To let is to allow or permit. If you don't prevent your little brother from jumping off the roof into a pile of leaves, you let him do it.