"What time is it now?" "It's exactly three."

[Daruma]

Hello.

"What time is it now?" "It's exactly three."

Do you use "just" in place of exactly?

Thank you.

[bhaisahab]

Hello.

"What time is it now?" "It's exactly three."

Do you use "just" in place of exactly?

Thank you.

You can.

[albeit]

Hello.

"What time is it now?" "It's exactly three."

Do you use "just" in place of exactly?

Thank you.

Using 'just' sounds the same as using 'only' and they connote, to me, "there's still lots of time left for something as it's just/only three".

To get the meaning you envision,

It's just turned three.

[PROESL]

Hello.

"What time is it now?" "It's exactly three."

Do you use "just" in place of exactly?

Thank you.

No, saying "just" doesn't mean 'exactly".

It's common to say "just about", as in "It's just about three now", which means that it will soon be three.

Saying "it's just three" would mean "it's only three", but I think "it's only three" is more likely to be spoken than "it's just three".

It's only three? We have a few more hours left.

[bhaisahab]

No, saying "just" doesn't mean 'exactly".

It's common to say "just about", as in "It's just about three now", which means that it will soon be three.

Saying "it's just three" would mean "it's only three", but I think "it's only three" is more likely to be spoken than "it's just three".

It's only three? We have a few more hours left.

"What time is it John?" "It's just 3 o'clock." I think that this would be a normal dialogue in BrE to mean that it's 3, it's not before 3, it's not after 3, the big hand on the clock has just reached the 12 and the small hand is on the 3. Just 3.

[bhaisahab]

On further reflection, I think I would probably say "It's just 3 o'clock" rather than "It's exactly 3 o'clock". Both are correct of course.

[bhaisahab]

just - Definition of just adverb (EXACTLY) from Cambridge Dictionary Online: Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus

just - Definition of just adverb (NOW) from Cambridge Dictionary Online: Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus